Flicker
by Sober.Little.Girl
Summary: Fraternal twins from Finland make life even more interesting for John and Bobby at the Mansion. 2 years Post X3. NOT A PYRO/ICEMAN PAIRING. Main focus: Pyro/OC Also: Iceman/OC with Rogue/Wolverine mentions.
1. New Arrivals

**Flicker**  
Chapter One: _New Arrivals_

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but my original characters.  
**AN:** I'm attempting to keep as close to the character's portrayed characteristics from the movies. Forgive me if I stray from the path. The Story will focus on the PyroxOC pair mainly but there will be a BobbyxOC pairing as well. And I'll probably put LoganxRogue in there too for good measure. If you don't like it, please don't read it. I try to be funny, to keep people interested. I don't always succeed. Things will be a little cliche with the whole "everything-is-totally-opposite" thing or whatever. I have a thing for polar opposites and exact pairs. Just a forwarning. Some of it, ok alot of it, will make you think "Well who didn't see that coming?". I happen to love cliche things. So deal. My language can be utterly deplorable, and is not suitable for younger people. I curse like a sailor, hence the Mature rating.  
_Let me know if the formatting is weird for you to read. I'll gladly fix it._

**Summary:** _This story is set about a year or so after the events of X3. Its slightly AU. Professor X is alive, in the body of the vegitable guy. (I cannot remember for the life of me if they gave him a name) Jean is still dead, as is Scott. Pyro has been taken back into the X-men (reasons explained later), Rogue never took the cure, Magneto does not have his full powers back but Mystique is once again her awesome blue-scaly self.  
_A pair of fraternal twins come from Finland to join the X-men. One of them is to take the place of resident Doctor to the institute, the other is still mostly undecided upon her career. They're sign is Gemini, and pretty much polar opposites from one another, but of course they are _twins_, so they're alike in many ways as well.

I'm horrible at summarys, so please forgive that as well.

Enjoy.

* * *

"I can't believe we're doing this, Sinikka." 

"Well...believe it." Aurora sighed deeply, tossing her long black hair haughtily behind her shoulder. Gravely, her whiskey colored eyes roamed the airport around of her.

"American Homo-sapiens are such... pigs." Her sisters throaty laugh drew a smirk from Auroras serious face. "You know its true Sini, don't laugh like you had no idea." The last lazy rays of the sun began to slip in through the windows to tint her eyes a blazing orange color as it started to dip down below the horizon. Sini allowed herself to shake her head with a small smile.

"Whatever you say sister. I like the normal people. They're so adorable." Sini allowed her own cobalt blue eyes to wander and meet the momentarily orange ones of her fraternal twin. "not all of them are...disgusting." This time it was Aurora who laughed heartily.

"Oh my. You really think so? When you find one, please do point them out."

"Well...At least they're not as bad as the french."

"Hey! The french were pretty awesome, thank you very much." Sini smirked and snatched up her luggage as it came around, Aurora doing the same. "lets just find the car." With a nod and a roll of her eyes Sini motioned exaggeratedly for her sister to lead the way.

It didn't take them very long at all to find the one and only driver holding a sign containing their last name, Vuori. Even despite the sign though, he stood out like a sore thumb to say the least. The duo of car and driver before them was quite an interesting one. The car itself was incredibly unique, giving the impression that it was definitely one of a kind, and painted brightly with ice-blue almost matching the snow surrounding them. Aurora raised an eyebrow and took a quick peek over at her twin, who's mouth was hanging open. The driver of the car had the prettiest blonde hair Sini had ever seen, other than her own, and blue eyes to rival her own as well. Her breath had caught in her chest as she dragged her eyes from the driver to the car. She approached it like a wild animal, cautiously, and completely engrossed with it. Aurora took into account the fact that the car was compact, and only had two seats. She voiced her concerns to the person from Xavier's Academy as Sinnika made her way around the piece of machinery .

"How do you expect to get both of us there in..._that_? I'm not fucking sitting in anyone's lap for 6 hours. And _no one _is sitting in _mine_." The guy still hadn't said anything, but he looked deep in thought, staring right at her. "hey. Dude." Aurora snapped her fingers impatiently while her sister continued her awed inspection of the car. Bobby snapped out of his worried gaze but didn't stop staring at the woman before him.

"Well if you hadn't chosen an airport 6 hours away then we wouldn't have that problem now would we?." He quipped, giving her a look that would have frozen anyone else in their tracks. Aurora smirked haughtily.

"You can thank your professor for that one, dickwad. It wasn't my choice.." He just huffed.

"_You_ will be riding with Logan." Bobby jerked his head to his right with a smirk, motioning to the car parked behind his. This evoked a real smile from her. She wondered why she hadn't noticed it before, it was an amazing piece of work, even better than the blue one, but once again, she had the strangest feeling that there was no car like it in the world. It was the _color_ of fire. No distinct red, yellow, or orange, it just _was_. The still fading sunlight flickered in her eyes again and quickly returning to normal, making Bobby blink twice, wondering if her eyes actually had done what he thought. Logan finally stepped out of the car, a lit cigar hanging from his lips. It reminded her that she hadn't had a cigarette in the longest time, so she reached into her purse and pulled one out of the pack. After placing it between her lips and putting the pack back in her purse, she snapped her fingers. A small flame appeared above her closed digits and she used it to light the cancer stick. Bobby watched with a smile as she opened her fingers and it disappeared. Suddenly Sinikka popped up beside Bobby with a wide grin.

"I fucking love this car."

"I think it sucks. This car however, is orgasmic." Logan growled as Aurora leaned against the side of the fire-car and ran her hands behind her lovingly over the hood. Identical smirks appeared on the two girls faces as they both said the same thing to Bobby.

"Pop the trunk." Bobby and Logan rolled their eyes, praying that the twin moments didn't happen often.

"I'm not lugging this crap in my lap all the way to the house-thing."

"Its actually a mansion." Sini's head whipped around to look at Bobby with wide eyes as she shoved her stuff into his trunk and her sister did the same.

"What?" Aurora giggled at her sisters cluelessness.

"Duh. Didn't you look at the brochure X sent us?"

"Not really...I was too busy."

"Doing what? Fucking around?"

"yeah, pretty much." the girls shrugged and stood next to their respective rides.

"Ok, as much as I love small talk, We're leaving now." Logan said gruffly, turning and getting into the driver side. Before Bobby even register what was happening, everyone was in their respective vehicles except him. With a groan, he walked around to his own driver side and tossed the sign behind his seat.

Aurora was on her fourth cigarette a half hour into the ride when Logan finally spoke. She hadn't minded the silence, it wasn't awkward. But then again it hadn't been companionable either. It just was silent.

"So kid. Whatcha in for?" Her eyebrow raised, and even in the dark he could see how much she resembled another fire-manipulator he knew. She continued to stare outside as she took a leisurely drag from her cigarette, and blew the smoke out the open window.

"Sinikka wants to be a doctor" Her accent slipped out, making her voice thick. Her eyes looked over to him. "She wouldn't leave without me, and I wouldn't let her go without me, so of course I had to come." Logan raised a characteristic eyebrow.

"She could have gone to any college and practiced at any medical facility...Why Xavier's?" Aurora shrugged.

"Its her dream to work exclusively with people like us. She finds Homo-sapien DNA too boring, so she prefers mutants for patients. She's already been to school, she was just looking for a job." Her voice got lower as she spoke. "It's the perfect opportunity for her."

"What about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well...You don't seem very happy to be here." The girl smirked and turned her full attention to him, looking away from the window and at his...different...hairstyle..

"How observant of you...You're right though. I'd rather be back home."

"Where is back home, by the way. You accent is...interesting."

"Finland.."

"That's pretty far away..."

"No shit Sherlock." Logan ignored her obvious need to smart off and continued.

"You speak English better than most foreigners. You've even got the fuckin slang down pact."

"English has been my second language since I was five. I prefer Finnish, its my mother tongue but English is the language of business, is it not?" Logan snorted.

" Yeah, I guess it is. So what are you going to do while you're here, if the only reason you've got to even be here is because of your sister?" She shrugged and looked back out the window at all the cars and landscape.

"I'll probably teach Finnish to some of the older students. Its pretty much the only thing I'm qualified for."

"At least its better than sitting around doing nothing constantly."

"Why? Is that what you do?" That familiar smirk appeared again and he couldn't help but imagine how this girl was going to get along with the firefly.

"Not exactly. I get to rough up the little punks."

"Ah. The punisher." Logan couldn't help but genuinely laugh at the comparison.

"Yeah you could say that."

"So what can you do, Big man?" He took his right hand off the wheel and held his fist near her face. When she raised an eyebrow, his claws extended with an almost inaudible 'snickt'. "Fucking Christ." She didn't flinch when they retracted just as quickly and he placed his hand back on the wheel. "Is that it?"

"No, but you'll see the rest when I kick your ass in the danger room." She snorted. The "special" brochure Professor X had sent her mentioned something about a unique training facility but she hadn't read much into it.

"We'll see. What's your name, by the way?"

"Logan, Icebreath told you that earlier."

"No, What's your real name, Logan?" The sentence reminded him eerily of Magneto. It was the same thing the old man had asked John that day on the jet, on the way to Alkali Lake. He ignored it and answered her, knowing what she meant.

"Wolverine. What's yours?" She smiled eerily and held a fist in front of his face, much as he had done to her, only she just held it and watched him drive for a second. He never moved his concentration from the road, but she knew he was watching. A slick smile graced her features as she quickly snapped that fist open. Her longish, bright blue painted nails scraped across the skin of her palm before her fingers opened completely to create a claw. Within the claw of her hand, there was a flame. He smirked and watched. _Oh yeah,_ he mused silently. _They're gonna get along just fine._ She flattened out her hand and brought it closer to her face. The fire sitting on her hand touched her skin, but did not burn it. The small light emanating from her palm reflected in her eyes, making them a blazing orange again.

"Inferno." her voice was no more than a whisper but it was spoken with such resonance it was impossible to mistake the fact that indeed, she believed it to be her real name, if not a sacred one. The flame morphed into five smaller balls of flame when she held her hand up, one over each finger. She tilted her head slightly, as if completely entranced while she watched the fire slowly engulf her hand like a glove. It reached down to her wrist before it stopped moving. She looked over at Logan with a real smile as she snapped her flaming fingers and her hand returned to normal. All traces of fire gone. "Does it fit?" Her eyes went back to normal with the disappearance of the light source. He didn't look at her, just shook his head slightly.

"I'd have to say yes." She nodded her head once with a satisfied smile and looked back out the window.

The ride was silent for the next Five hours. She slept for most of the ride, her feet clutched up to her chest and the window as her pillow. Her jacket had been put over her to protect her from the cold even though the heater was on. He listened as the sound of her deep breathing changed, became shallower signifying that she was waking up. With a yawn and a quick stretch she popped her eyes open and immediately reached for her purse and a cigarette. After taking a few drags and rolling the window down a bit she looked at him gravely, her hair falling into her face a little. "What's this place like?" She sounded worried, but just barely. Logan shrugged.

"Well...its usually pretty loud. There's a fuckin assload of kids. There's even more than usual, now that they know the cure isn't permanent. " Her eyes darkened when he spoke of the cure but she didn't say anything about it. "Dinner is usually the worst...and between classes. Other than that its not so bad." She nodded gravely again and was silent for another ten minutes.

"They're going to drive me nuts aren't they?"

"The kids? Hell yeah. Its what they do. How old are you anyway?" She snorted.

"Its not polite to ask a lady's age."

"But if I don't know how old you are how'm I supposed to know if you're a lady or a girl?" Aurora let out a laugh and shook her head.

"Smartass. I'm Nineteen." Logan let out a whistle.

"Damn, you're a fuckin baby. Your sister is the same age, right?" She nodded.

"Yeah, dick. We're fraternal twins."

"Really? I thought you guys were identical, other than the hair."

"Nope."

"How has she already been though school and all that bullshit?" They pulled up to the mansion gates earlier than expected and drove on through behind Bobby's car.

"She went to majorly advanced classes all through highschool, and went to college two years early. And she just graduated like three months ago. We actually turn twenty in a month or so." They were both silent again as Logan pulled the car into the huge garage and parked it next to Bobby's. Aurora got out quickly and stretched, her body moving languidly as she adjusted the dark jeans on her legs and pulled down the tight long sleeved black shirt she was wearing that read "poke me". Slowly she walked around the car, taking in every little detail in the dim light. As she rounded the end of the vehicle, she looked down and noticed the licence plate. It simply read "Pyro". With a raised eyebrow she walked to where Sinnika was standing with Bobby. They were standing next to a door that obviously led into the house. As Sinnika handed Aurora her bags, Aurora looked over to the ice-maker, since Logan had already gone inside.

"Who's car is that? Its obviously not Wolverine's." She motioned to the one she had ridden in. Bobby smirked, his icy gaze meeting her heated one.

"That's Pyro's car. He's not gonna be too happy that Logan...borrowed..it. He has quite a temper."

"Pyro? As in "the terrorist" Pyro?" She actually used her fingers as best she could to make the quotation marks.

"Yeah. That one." Bobby looked uneasy for a second but she just smirked.

"Well. This should be interesting."

"Play nice." Sinnika gave her sister a stern look as she spoke but Aurora could see the twinkling mischief behind Sinnika's blue orbs.

"Oh yes, I'll play very nice." She gave a thick laugh and caught at her bottom lip with her teeth as Bobby gave them both a strange look and led them into the mansion.

* * *

Please inform me if I repeat myself too much in my writing, or give too many details not seemingly relevant. 

_**Constructive**_ criticism is always welcome. (along with totally flattering niceties too! lol )

I don't know how long this story will be, or how often I will be able to update.  
For that I apologise,  
but reviews are Absolutly Adored!


	2. Interactions

**AN:** Chapter 2! Up sooner than I expected, and according to wordpad its longer too, but not by_ too_ much. I hope you all enjoy it! I'm sorry I had to add a person to the group at the end of the chapter for my sanity.Thank you so much to my reviewers:

_**Karmagirl880618  
**__**CodenameCali**_  
_**Ratdogtwo  
**_**  
Disclaimer:** I don't know if I put one of these on chapter One, but I, sadly, own absolutly nothing other than my original characters and the saying "cock juggling thundercunt"

* * *

Whiskey colored eyes roamed the mansion's kitchen in silence. Aurora was sitting at the island in the middle of the room, a small bowl of plain vanilla soft-serve ice-cream on the counter in front of her. Thin fingers twirled the metal spoon around slowly as she took in her surroundings. It was around 3 am and he and her sister had been at the mansion for about three days. Already they felt at home despite the largeness and the fact that they shared their living space with hundreds of mutant children. Most of the kids stayed away from Aurora, but for some reason flocked to Sinnika. It didn't bother the fire starter in the least, she had no qualms with being alone. The only people she'd really come into contact with were the Wolverine, icebox, Storm and the illustrious Professor X. Aurora mostly only came out of her room at night when the children and most of the adults were in bed, when she did show herself during the day she received weary and questioning looks that she ignored. A few brave older students had approached her and talked to her for a few minutes about fickle things and inquired about her background. She had answered all their questions genuinely with a smile before they hurried off and she hadn't seen them since. A soft, contented sigh escaped her pale lips as her eyes roamed down to her bowl of ice-cream. After taking a few bites she got the feeling that someone was watching her. Gently she put the spoon down into the bowl and closely examined the smaller details of the room. The heat had seemed to kick up more than she was used to, and that was a lot considering her heightened core temperature due to her elemental mutation. When her eyes swept to the left she noticed the pantry door just outside the kitchen was slightly open, which it hadn't been before. Also, the quiet of the mansion had deepened, like silence left in the wake of a human being walking through a forest. All of the little sounds typical of a place of residence had ceased, and it made her body visibly stiffen. She'd learned as a child that it was smart to always know when someone was around, especially if you were a girl. Even more especially if you were a mutant. One could never be too careful in the world. After a second, something dawned on her. They had informed her the day after her arrival that there was only one other fire manipulator in the entire mansion. Thus, there was only one other person who could make a temperature change such as the one she was experiencing. A sly smile crept across her face as she resumed eating her ice-cream and relaxed. She tossed her hair behind her shoulder and put her spoon down again. They had warned her that he wasn't the most pleasant person to be around, a few claimed he was just as surly as Logan, sometimes worse. The thought made her giggle on the inside. 

"Hello _Pyro_." She heard an almost inaudible snort.

"Took you fuckin long enough to realize I was here. I could've slit your throat and been gone before you even realized you were dead" She raised an eyebrow but otherwise ignored the comment. Rising, she went to the freezer and grabbed the huge tub of ice-cream. After refilling her bowl she turned and walked back to replace the tub. On her way she heard his light footsteps enter the kitchen. By the time she closed the door and turned back to her seat, he was already there, eating her food. A scowl crossed her features.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He looked up at her with an innocent smile.

"Finishing this off for you" After licking the spoon clean and putting it back into the bowl for another bite he smirked. "Wouldn't want you getting any fatter now would we?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously and the temperature of the mansion fluxuated.

"How sweet."

"Aren't you going to thank me?"

"Hmm...no not really."

"But I'm doing you a favor."

"Well, Mr. Allerdyce, you can take your favor and shove it up your ass." Her voice was dripping sarcastic sweetness and his eyes flared something evil when she said his last name.

"Its Pyro, bitch. You better watch what you say." She whistled lowly.

"Ooh, feisty. Did I strike a nerve?" She made a pitying facial expression before smiling wickedly and taking her bowl and spoon back. She hopped up onto the counter and sat Indian style. As she resumed eating her ice-cream Pyro watched her intently from her former chair. His socked feet were propped up on the table and the front too legs of the stool-chair were raised a bit off the floor. The two of them stared blankly at one another, the underlying tension coming from the both of them created a sweltering heat within the entire mansion. Each was ready to go off on the other, for no reason at all. She could sense his arrogance from across the room. It was rolling off of him so thick it could have been a smell. Or maybe that was his cologne. His eyes flickered slightly and she smiled triumphantly. She'd just won the unspoken eye-contact contest they were having. He scowled, not liking the smug look on her face.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, little girl?"

"Shouldn't you be with Magneto, terrorist?" Her voice was as smooth and soft as the ice-cream she was eating.

"Jealous, are we?" Her own eyes flashed the brilliant orange with the light.

"Not so much Allerdyce." She smirked against the rage she felt inside, ignoring how much hotter it had gotten.

"What the fuck did I tell you." she shrugged nonchalantly and dropped her bowl in the sink.

"Mm..I can't remember. I don't really store useless information in the back of my brain." Jumping down from the counter, she glared at him. "You're a punk." Her glare softened and she smiled as she sighed. "It's a pity, really. I'd hoped you'd be more interesting, Pyro." Her head tilted as she shrugged and walked out of the kitchen. Halfway down the hallway she found herself pinned to the wall by a not so happy looking Pyro. She stared silently up at him, her eyes met with his in the almost absolute darkness. His hands had her shoulders pinned tightly and his body was pressed roughly against hers. "What do you want, boy?" Her voice came out in a whisper against his lips and cheeks because of his close proximity. Slowly his head lowered until his mouth was right by her ear. She could hear her steady breathing as well as he could hear hers.

"Watch yourself, little girl. Its not wise to turn your back on strangers. Never can tell what they're going to do, ya know?" His words caressed her ear with the gentlest breeze of warm air, his own voice a whisper just the same as hers but sturdier and deeper. She struggled against him for a second, just to see his reaction. And when she did, she felt, rather than heard the growl rise from deep within his chest and rise up into his throat. A smirk flickered across her features before they returned to their stony resonance once again. He didn't notice as he continued to just stand with his body forcing hers tightly in place. they listened to one another's breathing, neither of them willing to say for their own reasons. She didn't want to break the peace and wake up the mansion, he was afraid that if she smarted off to him he'd hit her. He didn't much like hitting girls, but the presence this one exuded made him really _want_ to hit her. He had an overpowering need to establish dominance over her, but for some reason couldn't bring himself to do it. _'Am I going soft?'_ He wondered silently to himself as he pulled his head back and glared directly into her eyes. He could almost sense that she was asking him to hit her, well, to try anyway.

"Being a super-hero X-men has softened you up Firefly. I used to watch on the news all the time about how you could kill an innocent sander-by with absolutely no provocation at all. Well guess what? I'm provoking you and you aren't doing shit." He roughly pressed his leg between hers, cutting off the feel of her venomous words against his conscience and at the same time putting her into a more vulnerable position. If there was one thing about confrontations he knew best, it was 'pull your opponent as far out of their comfort zone as possible.' She grunted unhappily but didn't seem very much phased. Inside though, she was roiling with anger. _'How dare he! This fucking jackass...'_ Her thoughts were cut short by him getting in her face.

"Alright little bitch. Listen up. You may think you're the shit, but you're not. You haven't done anything to me yet other than get on my fucking last nerve and the most we've been in each other's company is maybe ten minutes. That's a hard thing to do for most people, you know that? A lot of them take at least a half an hour. Don't you feel special? You've made a new record."

"OoOoOo...I feel sooo special Mr. Terrorist sir."

"I'm not a terrorist. I know they told you that." There was a few moments of silence in which she just stared up at him with something that could have been hatred.

"Yes. They did tell me. And frankly, I don't give a shit. I don't trust you. You're a traitor to both sides. Which makes you a loose cannon." There was something else lurking in the darkness of her voice but he couldn't tell what it was, and frankly right now he couldn't care less.

"You know what you little cunt? I don't fucking care what you think of me. I've got the people who're to me on my side, and that's all that matters. Stay the fuck away from me." She snorted and threw her head back.

"Stay away from YOU?!" Their voices were barely audible in the silence but to the both of them the noise was a roar. "You're the one who came to me. BOTH times, motherfucker. So, how about you stay away from me?" he opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out. She smirked and shoved her way out of his grip, delighted that she had bested the supposedly brilliant once-right-hand-man of Magneto and went to her room, walking on cloud nine. On her way she could have sworn she heard him mutter something degrading again but she ignored it. The flare in temperature didn't bother her in the least as she entered the room she had to herself and climbed happily into her bed.

* * *

The next day found Aurora and Sinnika sitting around on the pool deck, lounging in the sun and listening to a portable stereo while the kids of the mansion were all in classes. It was around noon and they'd been enjoying the peace and quiet for about an hour. Aurora had her eyes closed behind the sunglasses she was wearing and she was on the verge of falling asleep until she felt the sun disappear. A puzzled look crossed her face before she opened her eyes and placed her glasses on top of her head. When she looked up she saw Sinnika standing over her with her hands on her hips. 

"What are you doing?" Aurora looked up at her sister questioningly but received only a "look" and a slowly tapping foot in response. She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, wondering what the hell her sister's problem was. Suddenly the blonde huffed and stomped off over to the pool and jumped in, leaving Aurora completely clueless. She put her arms behind her head and watched her sister's powerful arms and legs propel her through the crystal clear blue water. Her contented sigh was lost on the wind as a few clouds floated on the breeze into the sunlight, creating a slight shade for a few moments. The sounds of hundreds of birds in the garden not far away were the most peaceful noises she'd ever heard. Her eyes fluttered closed and her breathing evened out giving the illusion that she was asleep. She heard Sinnika get out of the pool and walk to her lawn chair to grab her towel.

"Aurora..." The darker haired girl opened one eye and looked at her sister, having a slight feeling of what she wanted to ask, but said nothing. Another huff came from her sister. "Fucking tell me what happened last night." Aurora opened both eyes and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you kidding me?"

"No! Tell me what happened."

"nothing happened. I went to sleep."

"Don't be a bitch A! Tell me! I know something happened before you went to bed. It was way too hot most of the night. I know the furnaces don't work that well. So spill." Aurora sighed.

"Sin. Its nothing big."

"Oh don't give me that shit. Your powers don't influence the environment unless you're feeling pretty angry." Sinnika gave her a look that Aurora knew would mean trouble if she didn't start talking.

"Fine."

"Yay!" Sinnika giggled and crossed her legs under the towel in anticipation.

"I met Pyro last night. He's a total douchebag. He did the normal male thing by trying to assert dominance." Sinnika groaned.  
'I'm surprised the mansion didn't go up in flames. I hear he's got quite a temper."

"Yeah well I don't fucking care. He's not fucking better than me in any way so he can go to hell. If anything I own his ass. Little bitch can't even _create_ fire. Which means he hasn't owned his mutation. _It_ owns _him_." She smirked and looked at her sister who was rolling her eyes. "Don't give me that look again Frost." Sinnika snorted.

"I'll look at you however the fuck I want to."

"Bitch."

"Cunt."

"Slut'

"Skank."

"Tramp"

"Trollop."

"Skeeze"

"Asshole."

"Whore"

"Cock muncher."

"You munched the cock."

"Don't even lie bitch! You ate the cock."

"Nuh uh. You are the cock."

"I didn't fucking eat the cock!"

"Yeah you did bitch face."

"You're such a fucking cock juggling thundercunt."

"Fuck yo couch nigga!"

"What a sweet conversation for two girls to be having on such a bright day." Both girls' heads snapped towards the direction of the new voice in their obscene conversation.

"What can I say? We're just a couple of sophisticated ladies." Aurora smiled brightly at Logan before pulling her glasses back down to block the sunlight. Logan snorted and nodded at Sini, who in turn nodded back."So what are you doing out here Wolverine?" Logan was lost for a second in how streamlined their bodies were. His eyes roamed Aurora's chest down to her toned abs, noticing that she had the mutant symbol tattooed on each hip-bone before then following the straight line of her body to her legs. Her bright blue bikini matched her nails and barely left anything to the imagination. His eyes flickered to Sinnika for a second, only long enough to note the bright orange suit she was wearing under her towel.

"I've been ordered to tell you guys to get dressed."

"Why?" Sinnika looked confused. Did the dress code stay enforced at all times?

"Danger room, Session one for you guys."

"Hell yeah! Its about fucking time!" Aurora jumped up, snatched her towel around her body and hauled ass towards the mansion. Sinnika gave Logan a weird look before chasing after her sister.

"HEY BITCH WAIT FOR ME!" She only received a middle finger high in the air from Aurora as the dark haired girl continued to run, laughing the whole way. Logan just watched the two girl run off with a big smile on his face thinking to himself that that had to be the nicest view he'd seen in a while.

* * *

Sinnika opened the door that joined her room with her sisters. When she looked around she didn't see her twin, so she stepped inside and stood there for a second before yelling her sisters name at the top of her lungs. 

"Ow! Bitch! What the fuck was that for?!" Aurora popped her head out of her bathroom door for a quick second before pulling it back in and putting her hair up in a bun with a few dark strands in front of her face hanging down. Sinnika smirked and walked to the doorway and propped herself up in the doorjamb.

"Hey lookie. We match!" Aurora snorted.

"Big surprise" Both girls were wearing identical black leather jumpsuits that bore no identification symbols and had the same hairstyle. Aurora took her rings off and placed them at the back of the sink before looking at her sister in the mirror. "Ready to go kick some mutant ass?" Sinnika giggled and nodded.

"Most defiantly."

Five minutes later the twins were down in the hallway infront of the danger room with the other X-men. Inferno saw a few people she recognized but most she didn't. Storm approached them all with a smile before introducing everyone.

"Alright, as you've all noticed, we've got two new girls training with us. Guys, this is Sinnika, alias, Frost." She motioned to the blonde twin and a few 'heys' and 'what's up's were thrown out. Then Storm motioned to Aurora. " And this, is her twin sister Aurora,"

"Just call me Inferno." She looked at Storm blankly before smiling. The older woman smiled back in understanding.

"Ok then, this is Inferno." Then she started to motion to the others. "Pete, or Colossus; Jubilation lee, Jubilee; Kitty, Shadowkat; Rogue; Bobby, Iceman; John, Pyro" Everyone ignored the snort when John's name was said, "You already know Logan, Wolverine; and of course I'm Ororo, alias Storm." The twins nodded politely at everyone in turn, except for Pyro of course. He received a curt nod from Sinnika and a glare from hell delivered by Aurora. Everyone noticed the spike in temperature but said nothing. It took Aurora a second to realize that everyone was pretty much paired off in the ways they were standing. Kitty was standing as close to bobby as she could be without being obvious, shooting looks at Jubilee every once in a while who was discreetly giving her the thumbs up while getting cozy near Collosus. Rogue and Logan were standing pretty close as well, but of course Pyro was off to the side far away from everyone but not quite far enough away to be considered "a loner". Storm was positioned at the head of the mass like the leader she was and the twins were in their own bubble. "Ok, lets go over quick procedures. We use our mutant names in the Danger Room for the most part because of anonymity in battle because of the humans and what-not...And umm...that's pretty much it, other than give it your all." She smiled brightly and turned to enter the room with everyone else following obediently.

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I'm trying to keep the story from dragging along and being boring while putting in information i feel is important (but it probably isn't).  
Feedback is nice. 


	3. Combat

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but OC's  
**AN:** Sorry this took so long guys! I've had this chapter written forever but my computer crashed and I forgot which of my 800 bajillion disks I had saved it on. But fear not! For I obviously found it! Chapter 4 is in the works as I speak...or type..or whatever.

Once again I'd like to thank the reviewers:  
**Karmagirl880618  
RatDogTwo  
SqueakyLittleKettle  
Tsumi**

You guys rock!

**AN2: **This is set post**-X3**, So, from how i've interpereted things, Logan is still a badass but he_ has_ gotten a little softer because of everything thats happened. Hes not going to be a total dick to everyone all the time. And Pyro is the way he is because of reasons explained later, I'm sorry if this displeases you. Just clearing that up for you.

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Sinnika grunted as she was knocked to the ground by the force of a massive, flaming boulder coming down not two feet from where she was standing. Quickly she scrambled behind a pile of rubble that used to be a huge police van to escape more of the flaming projectiles. Her breathing was rapid but even as she looked around at her teammates, Storm, Rogue, Kitty, and Pyro. They were in a defensive huddle, hoping the other team wouldn't find them before they had time to map out a plan. 

"This is fucking useless! All we're doing is running Storm, we need to do something!" Storm could only nod at Pyro as she thought through a few strategies, none of which seemed reasonable. After a few seconds of silent stares from her team Storm conceded to Pyro.

"Alright Pyro, since I'm not going fast enough for you how about you give it a try. This _is _a lesson, so what do we do?" Pyro grinned.

"Its about time you asked." He glanced cockily around at everyone taking quick assessments of their abilities. "Everyone seems to have their match, except for Rogue here. Jubilee is nowhere near her level, even without their mutations, so heres what I say we do. Storm, you take out Logan, I need you to get him as far away from that tower as possible or we can't do what needs to be done, hes our biggest problem with all of his heightened senses and all that shit, Frost, You need to take out your sister. Shes a bitch and shes quite obviously creating half another big problem for us from up in the tower." He lamely motioned to the flaming hale. "Kitty, I need you to take care of Collosus, hes the other half of the huge problem.." The girls eyes widened. "You can do it. You've taken on bigger than him, don't give me that 'hes too strong' bullshit. I've seen what you can do, Use your head dammit! And if anyone manages to get free, do whatever needs to be done. " Frost frowned.

"Why don't you just put all the fire out, dumbass?"

"Because that still leaves us with the problem of ITS RAINING ROCKS! And that'll take up too much of my attention, I need to focus on taking out Icebreath." Sini snarled inwardly at the name, even though it wasn't meant for her. "Rogue. Once you get passed Jubilee, I need you to climb the fuck up that tower as fast as you fucking can and END this shit on our terms!" Rogue nodded, but didn't exactly like the idea of possibly everything riding on her.

Inferno turned to look at Iceman with a wide grin on her face. They were standing on top of the only tower in the entire area, guarding the briefcase that happened to be the object of the game. She had spotted them planning the second her sister had hit the ground.

"Isn't it cute? they're making a plan!" The iceboy rolled his eyes and nodded.

"yeah well they've got Storm on their team. She happens to be a very good strategist. So forgive me if I don't find it as adorable as you do. We need a plan or they're going to crush us." She nodded with a smirk and turned to face the other side of the tower. On the ground Logan was lounging and smoking a cigar calmly while Jubilee, fifteen feet away was clumsily positioning herself high up in a burnt out tree. Collosus threw up a few more rocks of reasonable size towards the van that Inferno had motioned to. She set them ablaze just before they hit the van, sending the planning team scattering on the other side when it exploded. "Why aren't they guarding their briefcase?"

"How do we know they aren't? We don't even know where theirs is." Iceman frowned and scanned the area behind where they'd scattered. They would be putting their plan into action about now if he guessed right. "Look, they're all headed this way. They're not even trying to hide...What the fuck?" He smirked at her shocked expression.

"Well. As Wolverine says, the best defense is a good offense. Doesn't seem like something Storm would think up though..." Inferno raised an eyebrow but said nothing as she watched Bobby climb down speedily. She leaned into the rail and watched as Jubilee jumped out of the tree onto an unsuspecting Rogue who was trying to sneak by the Wolverine towards the tower. The girl's shriek of surprise was heard only by Storm who was suddenly busy with throwing lightning at the Wolverine ruthlessly. Inferno's eyes shifted to watch Pyro and Iceman as they began to go at it. She became so enfulfed into the fight almost directly below her that she didn't notice the ice shooting towards her. At the last second she realized her peril and held her left arm up to shield her face. Almost instantly her arm was a frozen block. With a deep frown, she growled and used the heat from her right hand to melt her arm back to normal. With a battle cry she jumped from the huge tower and landed swiftly near her sister. A large jet of flame was directed towards Frost's head and was met with a freezing jet to match it. Both sisters knew the battle of their mutations was fruitless and abandoned that struggle in favor for a hand-to-hand one. Rogue noticed that the twins and the Storm-Wolverine battle had both moved away and took this as her chance. She snatched Jubilee's wrist before the girl could shoot electricity into her face and yanked her close enough to thrust Jubilee over her shoulder. The second she hit the ground Rogue kicked the girls temple, which would have been a killing blow but only sent Jubilee out of the similation and to a bench in the observation room. With a quick glance around she noticed that everyone else was occupied and began her journey towards her objective.

Inferno growled and tossed a fake kick towards her sister's side but as Frost went to block it Inferno twirrled around behind the unsuspecting girl and landed a harsh kick to the back of her knee. The girls had been fighting for what seemed like forever but it had only been a few minutes.The resounding 'crack' of foot-on-kneebone followed by Frost's scream made Inferno cringe on the inside before reminding herself that right now, this wasn't her sister. She was the enemy. As the blonde twin hit the ground on her broken leg another scream rent the air. No mercy was one of Inferno's many life mottos and it didn't change because the opponent was her sister.

"YOU'RE SUCH A CUNT!" Sinnika yelled at her sister right before she felt a harsh kick to her spinal colomn at the base of her neck, knocking her unconcious but still in the similation.

"Sorry Sini." Inferno looked down at her sister for a second before catching a glimpse of the Pyro-Iceman fight and being reminded that she was on a mission. She set off back towards the tower, aiming to spot out where the other team's briefcase was hidden. She was shocked to see Rogue halfway up the tower and Jubilee nowhere in sight. A quick blast of fire sent towards the life-sucking mutant knocked her off the the tower and onto the ground. Rogues leather suit had caught fire and was melting to her skin in places causing her to shriek angrily. She was desperatly rolling around to put it out, oblivious to anything else at the moment. When inferno looked to her left she noticed Collosus half stuck inside of the tree that Jubilee had attacked Rogue from. She saw the rest of the other team, but it seemed they were missing one. A quick mental check of the other teams members told her that ShadowKat was nowhere to be seen. With speed she hadn't used in a while she climbed up to the very top of the tower and looked around. Almost a mile away she saw the girl standing next to a shed-looking thing that was on fire, looking very distressed. A second after she spotted Shadowkat, a low whistling noise permeated the air, drowning out the original sounds of explosions and battle grunts. The eerie noise, which sounded a bit like a train, seemed to totally engulf all of her senses, and was getting louder. She sat up on the roof of the tower and looked around. She could see the other fights slowing down as the participants were all looking for the source of the noise. When she spotted the Wolverine standing infront of Storm she noted that he looked worried, an expression she'd not thought possible for the brute of a man. She looked towards the direction that the weather witch seemed to be glaring at with her cold unblinking white eyes.

"Oh fuck..." Was the only possible explanation she could possibly begin to express. She'd never seen a twister before, and a rather large one was heading in her general direction. For the first time in her life since she was a child, Inferno felt real panic, and she didn't like it. She could feel the pressure rising in her chest as she fought back the furious urge she felt to scream. It took the wind violently whipping her hair around her head to bring her to her senses. Little sounds eminated from her chest as the instinct to flee took over. She dropped from the roof down onto to ladder-like sides and swung herself down as nimbly as she could in her state. Barely on the edge of her conciousness she remembered that it was just a similation. Though it was definitly in Storm's power to create such a monstrosity, she tried to keep in mind that whatever happened was not technically real. It was hard to fight her instict to flee and hide somewhere, but she mentally clawed her way to sanity and remembered her mission. As she turned her back to the oncoming twister she began her tremulous journey towards ShadowKat. The violent wind from the cyclone pulled all of the surrounding wind to it and she was almost pulled backwards a few times but she kept going. Dropping into a crouch she found that the wind resistance dropped a little and it was an easier and much quicker to move. She ducked behind the still smouldering van and closed her eyes. After taking a few deep breaths she trained her ears to block out the incessent whistling and continued to crawl her way towards the shed. Things looked much different on the ground compared to how they looked from above but she moved on, deciding that she really wanted to win this for some reason.

Wolverine's survival instincts kicked in as they always did, and he did his best to ignore the thrumming whistle pounding at his heightened senses. Storms entire concentration was focused on keeping the twister where she needed it to be, so he took the opportunity to leap at her, claws fully extended and ready for blood. Which they got. His left hand of adamantium sunk deep into her stomach and he heard her grunt out a word he never would have thought she could say. His eyes glazed over slightly as the scent of her life's essence flooded his nostrils. The wind whipping around them died a little as the twister suddenly veered off of its course, back the way it came. No one watched as it swerved unsteadily back and fourth, all were too busy with their own problems to notice the whistling get lower and less dominant. The animal in wolverine took over completely, and as Storm looked up at him he plunged his right hand into her throat. Without an ounce of sympathy in his eyes he watched as her hologram faded out then turned to Rogue who was finally struggling to stand back up.

Inferno ducked behind the building, close enough to ShadowKat to hear the words she was mumbling to herself.

"Oh god, Pyro is going to kill me...If the briefcase burns, do we lose?" The girl was talking outloud, and quite frantically. Inferno watched was the girl began pacing wildly. Slowly she inched her way around behind the brown haired mutant, completely silent. In her hysteria, the girl didn't even realize she was out of the similation until she was already sitting on the bench. Inferno watched emotionlessly as the girls holgram dropped to its knees then dissapeared. Snapping her neck had been easier than she'd thought it would have been. With a shrug, she put out the burning shed and moved to step inside, but the second she touched the door, the shed exploded again. Inferno was blasted back, a shriek of fury escaping from the very depths of her diaphragm. Immediatly she jumped up and looked around for Pyro. He was the only one who could have done that.

Rogue glanced over at Wolverine with a grimace and steeled herself to face him. She knew the look in his eyes, and knew that he wouldn't hold back. She dodged him nimbly as he lunged at her, ignoring her screaming flesh. Everytime she moved, the melted leather stretched, taking her skin with it. He came back around at her, this time slashing her arm with his claws. Before he could move away though, she reached up and grabbed his face with her ungloved hand. His groan tore her apart inside, but she didn't let go as he fell to his knees, gasping for the air he wasn't getting. A low gurgle sounded in his throat as she yanked her hand away. It had been more than a minute of flesh contact, and it was killing Rogue on the inside. She struggled with her mental blocks, trying to lock him away and get his screaming rage out of her head. It took her a second to realize that the screams were not in her head, but in her ears. Her body healed, she looked up to him with new senses, and new strength. Her own growl answered his as she lept at his charging form. Her legs locked around his neck and she flung herself backwards, tossing him heels-over-head behind her. When she landed in her crouch, she noticed that he had been slammed into a tree but was now getting back up.

"So how did you beat Icedick, firefly?" She knew it would rile him up to hear such references, and she was right. He smirked and stepped into her line of view.

"None of your bussiness, princess." He said the words with such distain it made her cringe on the inside, but she only smiled at him.

"Such a ladylike tone. I like your style." He glared at her.

"What do you think you're doing near my shed?" Inferno raised an eyebrow.

"Why, I'm about to kick your ass in this game of course."

"I don't think so."

"And just why not?"

"Because theres no way in hell you could ever beat me in anything." The arrogance exuded by the two practically crackled in the air between them. Neither of them would ever admit to defeat anymore than they would ever admit to being wrong.

"Such conciet. Its not becoming of a lady of your stature."

"You talk too much." With that he jumped at her. While the move definitly held the element of surprise, she managed to move away just in time and send a jet of flame towards his head as he went rolling onto the ground. He easily took control of the flame and sent it back at her before getting back to his feet quickly. With a flick of her wrist the flames dissapeared and she lunged right back at him. His cocky attitude made him think that she couldn't take him down, and he was wrong. As he went to dodge her, the same way she had dodged him, she dropped to the ground in a horizontal crouch and swept her leg forcefully out to knock his feet out from under him. Before he hit the ground once again she was on her feet and moving quickly towards the shed door. Evidently he was still catching his breath because when she used her shoulder to knock the door in he still wasn't caught up to her. She grunted with the force it took to get the door down, but as soon as it was out of her way she extinguished the flames and began her search of the building.

Rogue could have sworn she'd been fighting the ferocious Wolverine for only a few minutes, but knew that time in a battle moved quickly. Her theory was supported by the fact that he seemed to be wearing down as much as she was. She managed to land a kick to his midsection, to which he responded by grunting then grabbing her leg and twisting it violently so that her body spun and hit the ground with a 'thunk'. He still had her leg in his grasp and she struggled to get free but couldn't. She screamed when she felt cold steel pierce through her achilles tendon and the rest of her heel and only struggled harder to get away. Her vision blurred with the simulated pain as she fought back tears and continued to struggle. When she looked up at him from the ground she noticed that his claws were still buried deep into her flesh and were poking out of the other side of her limb. He ended up ripping his claws back out the other side of her heel, causing the pain to escalate and a huge gaping wound of mangled flesh and tendons in their wake. He roughly dropped her leg to the ground and moved so that he was crouching over her upper body. Rogues usually rosey cheeks were deathly pale as she slowly died from the bloodloss. He watched her with pained eyes, the Logan in him was beginning to come back and that was the only reassurance that she had. She knew that he had been in full animal-attack mode, she'd seen it in her own head and felt it in her own blood. She forgave him for being so brutal since it was only an exercise, but still, she felt she needed a little revenge. So with her last few "dieing" spats of energy she reached up and slapped him, only to leave her hand on his cheek. The bloodloss was too bad for his healing to completely recover her, but it healed the fleshwound. She grinned maliciously as he groaned in pain and watched her "die". Her hand dropped as her mutation ground to a halt. He was still reeling mentally from the entire thing. It was almost impossible for him to believe that he'd just done something so horrible not only to Rogue, but to Storm. He knew that both women were going to have more than a few words with him after the "mission" was over. With a defeated sigh, he pulled out a cigar and lit it with a nearby flame. Deciding to sit the rest of the time out he jumped up into the tower and looked around. He noticed that almost everything was on fire and raised an eyebrow, his eyes scanning the grounds and seeing no one other than Collosus, who was still stuck in the tree and no longer struggling, Frost, who was still quite unconcious on the ground and the the punkass Pyro dusting himself off by some burning building. He hadn't expected the majority of the two teams to be done this soon into the session, which he knew meant some interesting things must've happened while he was in predator mode. He continued to watch as the furious looking pyro-maniac ran swiftly into the flames.

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Thanks for reading! Sorry again for the wait! 

Once again, Constructive criticism is always nice. 3


	4. Medication for the soul

**AN:** Long time no see huh? Sorry! My laptop cord got demolished and I wasn't able to write or use the internet. :(

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"Ha ha bitch!" Inferno laughed outloud as she snatched the briefcase containing the flag from its hiding space under a randomly placed stack of tools. The simulation ended just as Pyro tackled her to the ground. A resounding screech of pain was all anyone could hear for a moment as she landed on the hard tiled floor, with Pyro's full body weight ontop of her. Not so luckily, her shoulder had broken the fall.

"OH SHIT! Aurora!" Sinnika was almost instantly at her sister's side from across the room. "Hey, hey, Are you alright? Don't move!" Sinnika shoved the stunned boy off of her sister only to hear a gutteral groan of pain from Aurora. "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Sinnika cringed as she gently rolled Aurora over onto her back. Her shoulder was broken completely in one spot where the bone popped out of her skin and the uniform, in one spot by her collarbone, and another spot was broken into an ackward position near her shoulder joint. "How bad does it hurt?" Aurora gave her sister one of the meanest looks she could muster through the pain before yelling,

"HOW BAD DO YOU_ THINK _IT HURTS SINNIKA?!" Sini cringed.

"Sorry, A. Logan?" Wolverine growled at the name but came to her side anyway. "I need you to carry her to the infirmary." He didn't react for a minute before reaching down to pick her up, but when he did Aurora barked at him. He gave Sinnika a werid look and stepped back as if Aurora was going to bite him.

"I can fucking walk Sin. My legs aren't broken, my shoulder is." Sinnika laughed slightly.

"Well sorry for thinking you'd want to be pampered for once." Aurora snorted and slowly managed to stand up. Sinnika nodded to Storm and the others as she began to exit the room with her sister. Aurora cast a menacing look upon the apparantly uncaring John, who just shrugged it off and followed everyone else out of the room.

* * *

"I don't need a fucking sling Sinnika!" Aurora was sitting on one of the beds with her arm in the sling she kept saying she didn't need, but Sinnika refused to even hear her sister's pleading.

"Yes you do now quit your bitching. You're gonna have to stay out of the danger room until you've healed up or you'll pop your stitches and I'll have to reset your shoulder. And I really don't want to put you in any more pain. Ok?" Sinnika put her hands on her hips and waited for an answer.

"Oh fine if you're gonna be a bitch about it."

"Yes, I am going to be a bitch about it. Now promise me you're not going to do anything that I've told you not to do until your healed."

"Sini, you know..."

"Promise me Aurora." Aurora sighed deeply and held up her pinky to Sinnika, who grabbed it with her own.

"Better?" Aurora raised an eyebrow as they both let go.

"Yes very much. I don't want you being too active either.And take these antibiotics so you don't get an infection." Sinnika rattled off more instructions for the next ten minutes, handing her sister bottles of pills and some kind of cream. Aurora tried to look like she was listening but she just couldn't pay attention anymore. The throbbing in her shoulder was getting to be too much for her to handle, even with her high tolerance for pain.

"Sini..." The soft, but rough growl in her sister's voice made Sinnika stop talking and look at Aurora instead of her chart. "Sinnika, I need painkillers. Now." Without a word Sinnika turned and grabbed a vial and a needle. With a soft voice and before turning back around she told Aurora to close her eyes and turn her head, which she did immediatly. When Sini was sure Aurora wasn't looking, she stuck the needle into the soft flesh of her shoulder. Aurora hissed with pain but kept looking away. Needles made her very nervous.

"Alright." Said Sinnika softly as she capped the needle and threw it in a hazardous waste basket, "that was a local anestetic, it should work for about four hours, but after that I want you to take one of these, no more than one every four hours. These bitches are about as strong as they come. They're double dose morphine pills, so actually take one every _eight_ hours." As she handed the bottle over to Aurora, Sinnika placed her hand over Aurora's and stopped for a second. "I want you to understand something Aurora." Her face was deadly serious and Aurora knew whatever her sister was about to say, she'd listen. "Morphine is...Incredibly addictive. One every eight hours is probably too much, but I don't know how much pain you're in so I can't be sure. So I'm trusting you Aurora. Your life is like my own. This isn't some little prescription that the doctor gives that doesn't work so you can take more than usual, or ignore the doctors orders. The doctor is me. And you're my sister. These things can kill you, or even worse you'll get addicted and they'll destroy your life.

Be careful." The simple honesty in Sini's eyes made Aurora realize just how much she loved her twin. With a small tear in her eye, she nodded slowly.

"Of course I will. I would never hurt you like that. You know it." Sinnika smiled.

"Yeah...I do...I was just making sure." Aurora rolled her eyes and jumped off of the bed and started sticking the many bottles and creams that Sinnika had given her into the sling.

"This thing is just as good as a fuckin purse." Sinnika smiled and shook her head.

"Alright bitch lets get outta here."

* * *

John groaned and rolled over fitfully. The sterio was going softly just like usual, but he just couldn't get to sleep. With an angry face he slammed his hand down on the alarm clock and turned it to face him. The broken red numbers glared at him menacingly in the dark.

_4:45 am_.

He rolled back over to lay on his back and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before running his hand down his face. He hadn't been able to sleep for more than an hour at a time all night. John sat up and shoved the covers distainfully from his lap and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He ran his hand down his face again then ran his fingers through his hair and stood up. With a quick glance around the room he sighed and turned his radio off then turned to the door. He debated on changing and putting his shoes on but decided it was too early to worry about it. No one would be awake this early on a Saturday. Not even the professor.

As he made his way down the empty and silent halls John thought back to a time when Xaviers had been his safehaven and he'd felt completely at home being with his own people. That was before he'd gone through his 'phase' as Professor X put it. The soft sound of his bare feet padding gently on the hard wood floor comforted him until he reached the back door that led to the pool. He opened the door as quietly as possible and shut it just as silently. He headed straight to the garden, knowing his way even in the dark. He was going to his spot by the lake. He'd been there enough in his years at Xavier's Academy, and usually only on nights when he couldn't sleep. Sometimes he'd even gone there during his time in the Brotherhood, though he'd never admit it. The insects scattered when the vibrations from his feet reached them, so his way was always clear. He kept looking around at how peaceful everything was, and a small smile crossed his hard features. When he reached the end of the garden he let his feet do all the directing to where he needed to go. The sun's first rays were just reaching the horizon as John's feet finally sank into the soft and very moist grass signaling that the lake water began a foot or two ahead of him. His feet took him left to the huge tree that was either centures old or manipulated by some strong nature-elemented mutant. A branch that was thick enough to fit four of him inside of it ran almost parallel to the ground and hung just low enough that it was easy to jump up and climb on, and it just so happened to be the best place in New York to watch the sunrise.

About twenty minutes of John listening to the birds wake up and the night life die down, he heard the almost silent footsteps of someone walking over the leaves and soft grass. He opened his eyes when the sound of something being picked up out of the muck around the lake hit his ears and realized he didn't remember ever closing his eyes. The sight before him almost took his breath away and he had no idea why. What he saw was Aurora, her long black hair was left down and hung around her shoulders and back, her slim but curvy form outlined in a gentle glow from the still rising sun and covered by a short, very thin lacy nightgown. She had her arm in a sling but still she moved with a feline elegance, her free arm dangling down by her side as she examined something interesting on her way to the base of the tree he was sitting in. He hadn't noticed the small black blanket she held under her arm with the sling on it until she pulled it out and sat it gently on the ground, smoothing out the corners with her free hand and sat down on it, without ever looking up. John slightly blushed as he continued to watch her from above, feeling slightly like a peeping tom. He was amazed at the complete serenity of her face as she sat crosslegged on her blanket, watching a pair of swans wrap their necks around one another, then as her gaze moved to the sunrise he watched her eyelids slightly droop down and she seemed to relax a bit more. John couldn't help but smile at the sight of her. She wasn't the bitch he knew her to be, right then she was seemingly a goddess of nature. His smile widened as he saw her slip a piece of bread from her sling and proceded to rip it up and toss it to some of the smaller birds lingering on the ground. He shook his head a little and went back to watching the day come to life. About an hour into their vigil, Aurora spoke.

"You know John, you look like an angel." Her dark voice was so soft that it didn't even disturb the birds and he almost lost it on the wind. The tone suggested that her words were not a compliment or an insult, it was just a statement of fact. He accepted it and just went off into his own reverie for a minute.

"I'm sorry about your shoulder." He said the words almost as softly as she, words he never would have uttered the words in any other kind of situation, but it just seemed like the best and only time he'd ever be able to say it. He looked down at her and saw that she still had on the completely serene expression as before.

"I know. Thank you." After that they lapsed into silence, the only sounds after that were the birds softly singing and the occasional jumping fish or rustle of the swans in the water. And like that they both sat until the sun was well in the sky.

Aurora was the first to get up and as she gathered her stuff to leave, she never looked up and he never looked down. After he was sure she was in the mansion, he jumped down and began his walk back, feeling incredibly lighthearted. Just before he walked back into the large building, and back to reality, he resolved to not speak about that morning. It felt sacred for some reason, even though he knew he'd see her not too long from then for breakfast. And somehow he knew that even she wouldn't talk about it, but she was still going to be a bitch.


	5. Back on the Grind

**WOAHHHHH I'm back for more! Time for me to "git-er-done" I'd say! :)**

* * *

Aurora put her shoulder through full range of motion easily, much to Sinnika's pleasure. Finally able to train together again, the twins had a sort of electricity between them, the serious anticipation of battle, even mock battle, was thrilling. Sinnika had felt horrible when Aurora had stopped coming to watch danger room sessions, even though it meant she was throwing herself into teaching her students how to fluently speak her favorite language.

Sinnika had heard Aurora speaking to Storm on several occasions on classes she would be able to take, but nothing ever came of it. She knew Aurora was impatient, school was never her scene, but training her body and her mutation...Aurora was a master of control, and had been since a young age.

She kept her anger and her mutation in check by practicing violence, and cunning. Training daily but not overmuch. It gave her the thrill she needed to not abuse her gifts. Neither of them wanted to hate humans without the X gene mutation, but the world insisted on hating them. So they fought. They fought back against those that attacked them, and fought the hate with peace when unprovoked.

Sinnika was happy being reunited in the darker side of their personalities, and from the gleam in Aurora's eye as she pulled up the zipper on her suit, the feeling was mutual.

* * *

Danger room thrill was like nothing else Inferno had ever experienced, the different war games they were playing kept her brain stimulated in ways simple training in a gym or outside never could. She_ loved_ it. She used a flaming fist to bring down a fake mutant, his face feeling very real as his scales collided with her knuckles. She gasped in pain as he hit the ground but kept running. IceMan was at her side in a second, they took cover behind a bus as he reached for her fist.

"You ok? Flex your fingers, now!" She groaned and tried to, but it was too soon, her hand wasn't budging without pain.

"I can't. I can feel it's not broken, I just need a minute. Oh shit, hey, put your hand over mine and freeze it!" he looked at her like she was crazy, but did as he was told and covered her hand with his. They both flinched and dove to the left as the bus was uprooted and tossed to the side.

Beast.

He was stalking his way towards them slowly, tauntingly. They just ran, zig zagging through the maze of buses at some random bus station, only stopping when they reached their destination. The room was small, and round, a phone in the center on the floor.

"This was too easy IceBoy..." Inferno looked around cautiously, her arms slowly working up a flame and ready for a fight despite the pain in her bruised knuckles.

"I know. Grab the phone, I'll watch your back." She nodded and slowly stepped further into the room. Bobby watched the open door behind him, while she watched the other suspiciously placed door on the other side of the room. She dove for the phone, picking the receiver up from the base.

"Hello?...hello?" She knelt on the ground, confused as she was greeted with silence. "What the fuck?" She pulled the phone from her ear and looked at it, Iceman casting her a nervous look.

"Nothing?" Inferno gravely shook her head, but just as she was about to speak a voice on the receiver came through.

"Good Job. But you weren't first. One phone down. One to go." And then the line went dead. Inferno groaned and tossed the phone in frustration.

"SERIOUSLY? FUCK I knew it was too easy...I wonder who got..." She was interrupted by a clamor in the hallway across the room and they shared a quick glance before slipping out the way they came.

This game was about cunning, with obstacles thrown in, fake live bodies for her to beat up, and other teams to outsmart. Her and Bobby made a good team, she was the brains, he the brawn, but she was exhausted. This was their third game, the tie breaker. The only problem was they had gone at it all day seemingly. They ran through a side door, running blindly through the building, only vaguely remembering the blueprints they found. "We need another room location...Where would they put the other phone?" Bobby took in her frazzled hair and facial expression as they stopped for a second. He would have said she was feeling hopelessness if not for the fire in her eyes. She was still determined to win.

"Well, knowing Storm, she put it in the most inconvenient location possible because the first one was way too easy." Inferno nodded.

"Ok...Well this is a New York bus station, I've never been in one so help me out here." He smiled at her disadvantage.

"I guess..." His face lit up. "Customs." Inferno's grin split her face.

"Seriously? Thats' all the way on the other side of the building...Not to mention..." She sighed. "I guess the most inconvenient spot would be the one crawling with opposition."

"Yeah I guess it would. Thanks for the heads up guys." They were both shocked to see Pyro and Frost standing a few feet away. Pyro sent her a wink as they shot off, headed to a new destination.

"FUCK. We just helped them out majorly If you were right we're so screwed Iceboy what are we..." He cut her off with a laugh.

"IceMAN, _Inferno_, and if you'll listen to me for a second I'd tell you I knew they were there, and that's not really where it is. Its gonna be in the security office. " She looked puzzled about how he knew this, but followed him as he began to run again anyway.

* * *

Collapsing in a heap together as the illusion disappeared, Sinnika and Aurora giggled, quickly getting over the burns they had left on one another. The adrenaline of the first session back had them all high as a kite, nothing but happiness came from all of them, even though the rivalry between them was strong. Both girls looked up at their respective partners, both wondering who had finally gotten to the phone first. It mattered, but not overly.

That didn't stop Aurora from frowning when she saw a scowling Iceman and an absolutely beaming Pyro. The sight took her breath away in more ways than one, and she struggled to ignore her body heating up, taking deep breaths and closing her eyes.

Sinnika giggled and stood up, reaching for her twin's hand. "Consider this win, your early birthday gift to me!" Sinni's bright smile made Inferno laugh as she let her sister help her up. She looked at Bobby and gave a half smile.

"We'll get 'em next time tiger." He broke into a smile and shook his head.

"If you say so." He bowed at the waist to the two of them before walking away, following Pyro out of the room to meet Storm. They dissolved into giggles.

"Thank you A, for taking this so well. I know you hate to lose." They followed suit with the boys and exited the room.

"Yeah but like you said. Early birthday present." Sini smiled and they took a seat among the others. Aurora's eyes caught Johns from across the room. They blazed at each other for a moment before Storm took their attention.

"Awesome you guys. Just...Great teamwork, some of you are a little cocky," She eyed John and Bobby but otherwise continued " But great planning and execution. And because you did so well, the next session is not going to be such a long one, we'll go from six hours to... Three and a half hours, max!" She smiled at their gasps of surprise.

"Wait, that was only six hours? We got in here at sunrise and we just watched the sun set..." Aurora's confused voice seemed to speak for all of them as they looked at Storm.

"One of the many new features we will be experimenting with for the next month or so." She smiled brightly. They all looked a little uneasy at the thought of test driving new features without knowing it. "Ok guys I'll see you all tomorrow." A sly smile crossed her features as she left them all to their day.

* * *

The day was definitely extra long, but Inferno appreciated it as she lazily wandered the mansion in her red silk pajama pants and tank top. The students had been oddly subdued today, the mansion had a peaceful atmosphere due to the face that the professor had decided everyone needed to take the day off for her and Sini's 20th birthday tomorrow. Aurora opposed any celebration, but Sini insisted on at least having dinner with the X-men. The Professor hadn't mentioned anything other than the day off, which settled it for both of them.

She turned a corner and a smile overtook her as she realized what she was looking at through a glass wall. A Dance Room, every wall lined with a mirror and bar across the middle. In the corner she saw a sound system, and that was all it took.

In seconds she had entered the room and quickly hooked up her phone to play some music. She needed an escape, she had felt homesick speaking Finnish all the time, and needed a release for the stress lining her insides every day. Few people knew she danced, and she liked to keep it that way. She bared her soul when she danced, it was the only way she knew how...

Soft cords began to thrum through the air, and she began to move. Her eyes closed as she took in the music, allowing it to flow through her body for the first time in way too long. Dancing helped her almost as much as fighting.

_"You stumble when you try, and you just can't get thing right... Turn the music up and lets get fucked up that's the soundtrack to my life..."_

The words of Twiztid's Woe-Woe always hit her hard in so many ways, it was her favorite to dance to. It was so raw, the emotion of it always sending her into overdrive, her body's need to move insatiable.

_"They tell me that I'm sick and I need medicine, But I wont take it cause the thought would hunger for all the voices in my head again. I'm gonna let 'em in, so let it be known. Set it in stone, the diabolical duo was coming home."_

Her body jerked violently with the anger in the voice, her legs splitting perfectly as she jumped, landing on one leg, then immediately moving up onto the ball of her foot, almost completely on-point, her other leg angled six inches from the ground. And as the song ended, she sighed and slid down into a split calmly. She breathed in and let the relief soak in, letting it calm her further.

Until the next song came on.

_"They told me, be afraid of the ones around you_  
_Cause nobody's gunna have your back_  
_They told me, make sure you get used to lonely_  
_Cause they're gone when you fall face flat_  
_They told me, it don't matter how you play the game_  
_Cause in the end you're a loser anyway_  
_They told me, see even when you win you lost_  
_They forget you by the end of the day."_

She was up and moving before the second line.

Damn, she had a thing for hip-hopey sounding music with depressing lyrics. Who would have thought? Pyro shook his head as he watched from the outside of the glass wall. her lithe grace didn't surprise him, but the intensity of the song lyrics, the music and the one track purpose of her movements did. He knew she could move in a fight, he should have guessed she could move her body in.._other_ ways...

He shook off the sudden twitch in his loose jeans and focused on her pain. That was the only explanation for the way she was moving, he could almost feel the angst flowing from the room and it made him want to ask her why, to comfort her. He shook that off too. No way. _But..._ whispered the little demon on his left shoulder. _He was Pyro. He have been a good guy now, but that didn't change who he was._ He contemplated her for a while, watching her dance for two more songs before walking to the kitchen. Shes so young... _But still an adult..._ His eyes glazed over as he fell into reverie.

Halfway there, he ran smack into Logan and Rogue. He felt the Wolverines growl as he bounced off his chest.

"Watch it punk." Pyro shook his head and smirked.

"Sorry man, lost in thought and all that." He moved to walk past Rogue and she grabbed his arm with a gloved hand.

"John," Her deep brown eyes were serious as they searched his, "Are you ok?" He shook off her hand. He couldn't respect her like he used to for taking the cure, but he appreciated her concern.

"Fine, Marie. I promise." He gave her a half smile and moved along. He knew they were going to discuss him and he hated it. They would always wonder about his loyalty, and he didn't know how to win back that trust completely. It was frustrating, but he knew he deserved it. He had been a douchebag, for a good reason of course, but still a douchebag.

He sighed as he entered the kitchen and headed straight to the fridge. He noticed Sinnika sitting at the large table by the bay window, books and papers spread out around her and her Ice King standing dutifully over her shoulder, looking overly interested in what she was doing. He found himself snickering as he jerked the fruit and yogurt from the fridge to make a smoothie.

The noise drew Bobby in from the adjoining room. Sunlight filtered in as he watched the sun begin to set for the second time that day, and Pyro couldn't help but smirk at Bobby.

"Weird right? Two sunsets in one day." The ice mutant nodded as he walked to the fridge, grabbing a soda.

"Very weird. I think its weird how they can mess with perception in virtual reality...Its all so complicated." His soft chuckle barely carried over to John, who smiled.

"Yeah all that's way too technical for my taste. Being a mutant is complicated enough." He pour his smoothie into a glass, and realized he had enough for two. Bobby didn't miss this fact either, and called him out on it.

"Who is that for? You never make more than enough for one glass." Bobby's eyebrow raised as Pyro looked confusedly at the blender.

Because he knew Icebreath was right. Why did he...? He shrugged his shoulders.

"No idea man..." Bobby actually laughed.

"Oh man, you made it for Aur..."

"Shut up. Shut. Up." His hissed reply was more violent than he intended, but it got the point across. Unfortunately, it failed to wipe the smirk off his friends face as the ice mutant looked over to his female counterpart at the table.

Sinnika was watching them, and she had a very large smile on her face and a gleam in her eye they both recognized.


	6. Its my party

_{My translations are at the bottom, sorry for any mistakes in grammar or wording if you happen to speak finnish, I used a translator and sometimes literal translations don't come out the way they are intended.}_

* * *

Aurora stretched in her bed, rolling onto her stomach causing the top sheet to tangle tighter around her bare legs. She buried her face back into her pillow as Sinnika suddenly started pounding on the door between their rooms with abandon.

"Herää! Aurora Herää! Herää!" Her voice was both commanding and whiney, only serving to make the fire mutant glance up at her alarm. She glared at the clock, it was screaming at her, saying it was 7:07am in God awful red letters.

"_"Sinnika mitä helvettiä? Jätä!"_ And with that she chucked the clock at the door with a huff, ripping the cord from the wall in the process. The sudden violence of the clock hitting the door had thrown Sinnika off for a second, but not long enough for Aurora to go back to sleep.

"A, SERIOUSLY, GET UP! I HAVE A SURPRISE FOR YOU!" She sounded so excited as she resumed her pounding on the door.

"FUCK OFF THE SUNS NOT EVEN UP YET!"

She placed one of her four pillows over her head and burrowed further into her bedding. It wasn't long before she heard the rhythm of the pounding change and slow down before stopping altogether. She sighed contentedly at the blessed silence. Five minutes later she heard keys and with an audible click the door unlocked and swung open, flooding Aurora's previously dark room with what she could have sworn was the brightest light she'd ever seen behind closed eyes. Angrily she groaned.

"Yes darling I'm afraid the sun IS up. We're not in Suomi, this is New York."

_"Miksi on sun tulossa jo perillä? __sulje ovi_."

_"Ei, meidän on liian paljon tehtävää voidaan silmäilystä noin koko päivän!" _The dark haired mutant threw the pillow from her head onto the floor and glared daggers at her colder counterpart.

_"Olen edelleen säätö ajan muuttumista, On liian aikaista aamu tämä auringonvaloa!_ Everyone has the day off anyway because of our birthday, shouldn't I be allowed to sleep until atleast when the sun comes up...back at home?" Aurora groggily sat up as Sinnika gently set herself on the corner of the bed.

"This _is_ home now... _Se on meidän syntymäpäivä, sisko! Meidän täytyy nauttia siitä lain sallimissa_ ,. Now get up." She smirked slyly, placing her palm flat on the mattress and allowing her mutation to sink the cold across the top of the mattress. "Before I freeze you out of this bed and ruin these beautiful satin sheets..." Sinnika took a second to study her sister's drowsy eyes before standing up to leave. "Take a shower and put on something...Comfy, but super cute. Limited accessories and close-toed shoes please. " A genuine smile broke over her features as she stepped back into her own room, shutting the door with an ominous thud. A twinkle in her eye made Aurora wonder what exactly her twin had in store. Rubbing the sleep from her own eyes she tossed the covers off of her and threw her legs clumsily over the side of the bed.

"_Paska Sinnika_..." She ran her hand through her tangled hair with a sigh and stood up knowing from all the noise coming from her twin's room it was going to be a long morning. _  
_

* * *

It was 7:30 when Aurora made it to the garage dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a black tanktop, a light jacket hanging over her arm. She sighed as she turned the knob and entered, surveying the large area. The garage door was wide open, allowing sunlight to fill the room. She smirked, thinking that the sun may have been up, but the mansion had been more silent than any Monday she'd experienced since she moved in.

She glared a bit at the two very familiar cars backed out into the driveway and ready to go. She almost couldn't hide her irritation, and if it hadn't been for the fact of getting to ride in an amazing piece of machinery she may have said something. It was her birthday though, and she felt like being peaceful for both her and Sinnika's sake, so she kept her mouth shut. After all, the blonde girl never said anything about it being just the two of them...

She didn't see anyone else standing around, so she took advantage of the alone time to further examine Pyro's car. It really _was_ beautiful. She couldn't wait to drive something like it, though she wasn't sure any other car would compare to the attraction this one held for her. She let her hand lightly trail over the hood, slowly traveling the body as she made her way down the length of the vehicle, reveling in the color brightly reflecting against her pale skin in the early morning light. She dropped her bag lightly on the ground as she rounded the back, officially tired of holding it.

The license plate caught her eye as always. _Pyro_. She sucked in a deep breath and took a few steps back, willing the image of his infuriating smirk to fade away before it completely soured her mood. They had been around for almost two months now, but she had done her best to stay away from him as much as possible to avoid the awkward situations she knew were bound to arise when the two of them were in the same room for too long.

They couldn't handle the heat of their combined presence, they drove each other crazy without ever doing anything. It was like a calling neither one could ignore, a constant urge to stoke the fire they could feel within the other one. She had seen Pyro only a handful of times outside of the danger room and the few interludes they did have were not pleasant, always passionate and sometimes downright rude. They had yet to have a civil conversation since they happened upon one another at the lake, which she knew everyone around them considered odd, because if anyone could understand them it would have been one another, yet they couldn't even talk without having some major argument that almost ended in violence and shot the temperature of the building up more than just a few degrees.

"You're getting your grease on my paint job...And it wasn't cheap." His voice carried over to her on the wind, barely a whisper as she jerked her head up to see him standing against the wall watching her.

"How long have you...?" He could see the hesitation in her eyes and it made him wonder what she had been thinking about.

"Long enough to know you've got your fingerprints all over the place." He smiled, and she couldn't really tell if it was real or sarcastic. "But as your birthday present I won't make you pay for the buff out."

Aurora snorted and rolled her eyes. "Always the gentleman St. John." His brown eyes blazed at her but he said nothing. She heard keys jingle, and the trunk of his car popped open.

"Put your stuff inside. Lets go." She raised an eyebrow and looked back at the closed door leading back into the mansion

"What about Sinnika and Bobby?" That made John grin, and it was a knowing grin that made her blush slightly and want to run to go find her sister.

"They're...Busy." His eyes darkened in a curious way Aurora had only seen once... On the first night they met face to face in the kitchen. "He's giving her a birthday present." And with that he smirked and hopped into the driver side.

Aurora blinked a few times before growling low in her throat and jumping in the passenger side.

_"P__askiaine_n, Miten uskallat hän herättää minut aikaisin ja on otsaa jättää minua yksin tämän kusipää." She was mumbling, and in a different language no doubt, but she knew John was probably wondering what she was actually saying. She didn't care, she spoke in her native tongue sometimes out of habit but she was glad he couldn't understand her. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and sighed as they pulled off the property and onto the main road.

Johns soft voice suddenly filling the silence startled her out of her reverie of watching New york roll by her window. _"Jos olen tällainen kusipää miksi sait autoon kanssani?" _

Her eyes widened comically. " Pyro I..."_  
_

"Didn't know I could understand you?" His smirk was infuriating, especially since she knew it was at her expense.

"No, I didn't... My mother tongue hasn't been something I've ever seen you interested in." His eyes shifted to her, casually noting that her face was beet red as he sped to their nameless location, weaving in and out of the traffic effortlessly.

"How would you know _anything_ about what I'm interested in _Inferno_?" The way he said her name sent a shiver of heat down her spine. She tried to hide the shiver and prayed he hadn't noticed. The question wasn't posed maliciously, and it made her want to rethink a few things when it came to him.

"I guess I...I wouldn't...I just..." He stopped her with a snort.

"_Exactly_. You're too judgemental woman! You over think everything and every one before you even give them a chance." It was her turn to scoff.

"Excuse me? The first thing you said to me was that you could have slit my throat, and you fucking called me FAT and that was AFTER stalking me. Forgive me for not wanting to be your best friend on account of your own creepy tendencies." She felt the temperature spike and grinned smugly.

"You're lucky its your birthday or we'd have a problem right now." He grumbled and was startled by her sudden laughter, it sounded full and...pleasant, to his ears. This made him frown but he didn't comment.

"I'm lucky? No Pyro, YOU'RE lucky. If it wasn't for the fact that I love this car I probably would have made you crash already." He raised an eyebrow and finally smiled.

"Yeah right, you couldn't do that if you tried. Nothing fucks with my driving." He heard her slowly suck in a deep breath, it sounded like a snake hissing and for some reason it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He suddenly had the feeling he shouldn't have antagonized her that way. The vibes she was putting off were suddenly no longer malicious, but had a very different feel to them. He could almost feel the electricity spark between them as he watched her turn in her seat from his peripherals.

She was eyeing him antagonizingly slowly and it was driving him crazy that she wasn't saying anything.

Finally, she broke the silence.

"How did you learn the Finnish that you know?" Her voice had gained a sultry tone to it, holding a million different images for him, each and every one of them he shoved away gruffly. One image would not go though, and it bugged him. All he could visualize was liquid chocolate falling over a bowl of strawberries and it was driving him insane. _I am not a fucking girl..._ He told himself, clutching tighter to the steering wheel. After a few minutes he finally broke and looked over at her, and immediately realized it was a mistake.

Suddenly he couldn't take his eyes off of her plump red lips, strands of her black hair lightly playing around her chin, her breath sending them up into the air before they came to rest, a horrible contrast of black against the red of her lips. He sucked in a deep breath and returned his eyes to the road. Now he was NEVER going to get the image out of his head...

"Well?" Her voice was almost inaudible, and he regretted that he had never turned on the radio instead of wishing for silence. He cleared his throat and pulled off the road down a brick road flanked by copious amounts of trees on both sides. Finally he came to a stop at a small empty parking lot and parked the car. He looked over at her with a sudden twinkle in his eyes and a small smile playing on his lips.

"We're here. Come on"

* * *

Finnish Conversation:

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

"Sinnika, what the hell? Leave!"

"Why is the sun coming up already? Close the door."

"No, we have too much to do for you to be lounging around all day."

"I am still adjusting to the time change, there is too much sunlight for this early in the morning!"

"No, It is our birthday sister! We must enjoy it to the fullest!"

Paska= equivalent of "shit"

"Shithead,How dare she wake me up early and have the nerve to leave me alone with this asshole."

"if I am such an asshole why did you get into the car with me?"


	7. Spark

**AN: I'm trying to keep my chapters around 2,000 words so this one had to be split in half and the rest will be posted next week!  
**

**REVIEWS ARE _FUEL_! Thank you so much for the new favorites and alerts, it means a lot!**

**One finnish line this chapter: it means "give me back my cigarettes or I will place your testicles in a blender and make you drink them"  
**

**Brutal I know, but my girl ain't no punk :P  
**

******also the word "pupu" is an affectionate term meaning "bunny" or "rabbi**t" and "**Voi Luoja" is the equivilant of "oh my god"**  


* * *

"How long do you think she's gonna be mad at you?" Bobby's voice was soft as he looked down at the girl in his bed. He was running his fingers through her white blonde hair, enjoying the feel of her silky tresses. She sighed deeply and rolled over to face him, his blue sheets tangled all around her naked limbs making it difficult to move around too much.

"I'm not really sure. I mean I know it's for their own good but... I really don't think she's going to talk to me for the rest of the day if things don't end up the way I'm hoping they will." Bobby smiled as she reached a hand up to trace his lips gently. "They needed this... There's too much tension between them for too many reasons, they need to get it out in the open so they can realize they are meant for each other." He snickered.

"You're not in charge of her happiness you know." Sinnika gave him a little glare.

"No, but I care about her happiness as much as I care about mine."

"And mine?" She giggled at his puppy dog expression.

"Yes, Mr. Drake,_ and_ yours. Aren't you worried John is going to be upset with you once he finds out this was our plan all along?" She felt him shrug before moving his body on top of hers.

"I know he's going to be upset, if only for me lying to him. But like you said, they need this. I know he thinks about her all the time because as soon as she's in the room or we mention her the temperature shoots up." he pressed his knee in between her leg and leaned down to give her a kiss. Her smile was radiant.

"Why can't they just stop fighting what they feel?" He shrugged, moving his leg further upwards to press against her core eliciting a moan from her.

"I don't know...If they feel how we do then they're fighting pretty hard."

"Which would explain the constant tension. They both have the fire in them," Sinnika snickered at his pun and buried her face in his neck, leaving a trail of light kisses down to his shoulder. She purred at the feel of his body shivering over hers. "So they're both pretty stubborn." She nodded and continued her assault down to his chest.

"Enough talking, I'm ready for round_ three_." With that being said she bit lightly on his nipple just to prove her point.

* * *

The park he had brought her to was spectacular, everything was so luciously green it took her breath away. She had followed him silently, surprised that he had pulled a picnic basket from the trunk when she grabbed her bag. They had got along quite nicely, it reminded her a lot of the morning at the pond back at the mansion.

She appreciated that he knew what trees were around them as well as she did. He had told her all about how Bobby had asked him his favorite park and this one had been the immediate answer, how he was pretty sure they were going to end up not coming. She agreed with him and knew she was going to give Sinnika hell for sticking her with him all day She almost didn't mind, as they seemed to be on the same page for once, the tension between them was not so intense for the moment. And the landscapes he was revealing to her were blowing her mind, the hill where they perched their stuff being the best, as it given them a wonderful view of the sun as well as the small forests of trees and smaller ponds in the small valleys below. The amicable time they enjoyed together only lasted through the meal though, at the end of which she tried to spark up a cigarette, leading them to their current situation.

"Give those back to me John." Her voice was soft but more menacing than he'd ever heard. It sent shivers down his spine, but not from fear of her wrath. It was more the murderous look in her eyes he should have worried about as he held her pack of cigarettes above his head about a foot out of her reach.

"I don't think so, smoking is bad for you Ms. Vuori, and I intend on helping you out since you won't help yourself." She growled and lunged at him knocking them to their blanket on the ground, tired of the game he'd been playing with her for the past five minutes.

"Give them to me now,_ firefly...Jos et anna minulle savukkeita takaisin aion laitat kivekset tehosekoittimeen ja tehdä juot ne._" She pinned his arms to his sides with her knees, ignoring the bite of the machinery around his wrists against her thighs.

He allowed her a second of victory as he tried to figure out what she had just said. He only knew what she had taught in her classes...He was pretty damn sure she didn't know he'd been sitting in on her lectures because of the college sized classroom the professor had assigned to her, but something in her eyes made him realize she _knew_ he wouldn't understand it...Because she hadn't taught it yet.

"_What_ did you just say about cigarettes and my testicles?" He felt her began searching his hand for the pack as he struggled feebly, but she came up empty.

He took the time to admire her thigh strength and other...womanly attributes, as she roamed the edges of his body with just her hands on both sides, searching desperately for her stupid cancer sticks and still not answering his question. John wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her and plastered a shit-eating-grin on to his face... Then he began to squirm underneath her like he was trying to get more comfortable. Judging by the way her eyes were darkening his plan was working. He'd been hinting at riling her up up this way instead of only shouting and random violent outbursts, but the opportunity never presented itself. Until now. It was the perfect time.

He'd probably never have this chance again.

He couldn't deny she was a vision towering above him, she looked like a Goddess, strong and proud and_ angry._ Her long black hair formed a curtain around them, filtering out just enough light so he could see the outrage in her almost golden orbs, the sunlight was sparkling in them and it was the best distraction he could have ever asked for. Staring into her eyes like this he couldn't help but break her silence.

"Your eyes are _so_ beautiful Aurora." His whispered and completely unexpected compliment threw her off guard, one peek at the look in his eyes and her brain shot into overdrive. Of anything he could ever say to her, she'd never expected that. She blinked once...twice...three times.

Violence she could react to, but this...What was she supposed to say? How was he expecting her to react?

Then she realized it was probably just a distraction... She decided it didn't really matter, because it wouldn't divert her from the task at hand, if he wanted to play games, she could play too.

"I...what?" She leaned back, relaxing the hold of her thighs on his arms just enough so he could wiggle them around. She also sat back on his pelvis, 'unintentionally' grinding her bottom against the rising bulge in his pants, making him suck in a breath and lay his head flat on the grass. Her eyes lost their guarded expression as he stared up at her. His small smile threw her off just a little bit more.

Maybe he was serious.

There was something in his eyes...Something more than annoyance or anger. His hands wiggled their way out of her hold but she didn't move an inch, refusing to break her gaze away from his. "They're amazing. Its like...I can feel the fire inside of you just by looking into them... Even all the way across a room they capture me." She felt the blush creeping up her cheeks as he thoroughly examined her face. How could he seriously be sitting under her making confessions like this?

"I...John, are you fucking with me?" He felt her body tremble and he knew it was nervousness. She seemed to be out of her element, which he understood.

Emotional breakthroughs weren't really his thing either, but if felt like the right thing to say to defuse the situation and get what he wanted.. He slid his hands gently up her thighs a bit and used his elbows to prop his upper body up so he could get a better look at her. He ignored the corner of her cigarette pack digging into his lower back where he'd hidden them as they fell to the ground.

His grin split his face so radiantly in the sunlight she couldn't hold back her own smile.

"No, _pupu_, I'm not fucking with you. I'm very jealous of how they change colors depending on your mood. Its... sexy."

She was glad for the lack of people around because the shiver that ran through her at his velvety voice speaking the term so reverently. Her head cocked to the side and she relaxed her thighs the rest of the way, leaving her pressed against him completely. His breath caught at the sudden weight, and he knew she could feel his reaction to her as much as he could feel the heat radiating from her.

"Pyro I...thank you?" She grinned hesitantly down at him, and the vision was a sight to behold. She could swear the man below her was a regular joe, carefree and loving life, but inside she knew there were a million shadows dancing within the fire of his soul.

He was _Pyro._ He aligned himself with _Magneto_, against his own_ team,_

_Weak. _No, not weak, she told herself, he was a level four just like her, _He was A Traitor. _

The words whispered through her mind, tainting every thought of him in her head. She shoved them away in favor of losing herself in his gaze. She had to give him a chance. The smiling man below her couldn't possibly be the same person that blew up a cure center and reveled in the destruction of those weaker than him...

But he was. But that didn't mean he was all bad.

_Everyone makes mistakes _she told herself._ Everyone_ deserved a second chance.

She of all people understood that.

So when he moved a hand from her thigh and placed it on her cheek, she didn't shy away like she knew she should have. Her brain shut off.

He pulled her head down and raised his own up, his lips catching hers in a fiery kiss that took her breath away. She pressed her mouth harder against his, her tongue fighting for entrance into his mouth. He sat up as he gave in to her, shifting her backwards and grinding her hips against the bulge in his pants. He growled, roughly grabbing her hips and pressing them down against his own once again. Her mouth came open in a soft moan, giving him the chance to regain control of the kiss. Her hands came up to tangle in his hair as he wrapped his arms around her lower body and pulled her as close as he could.

She was basking in the heat they created, counteracting the cool morning breeze blowing across their skin. He moved his kisses to the corner of her mouth, trailing his way down her jaw line to her neck and collarbone, loving the soft mewls of pleasure he was receiving from her.

"John what...?" He silenced her airy question by claiming her mouth with his own again.

" Shh. Happy birthday Aurora." She didn't have a chance to respond before she felt him shifting their bodies, He laid her flat against the blanket, hovering his body over hers teasingly as he began his trail down her jaw and neck again. He savored the feel of her writhing beneath him, loving every one of her reactions to his touch. Her hands were not idle, finding their way up his shirt easily as she began mapping out the contours of his chest and abs with her delicate but scorching hot fingers.

Every touch was burning him up and it was the best thing he'd ever experienced in his life.

He was running one hand down her side while the other held him up just enough to keep him about an inch away from her. He could tell she was getting frustrated when she grabbed his beltloops and tried to yank him down to lay flush against her.

His soft chuckle sent shivers through her whole body, serving only to frustrate her. Without thinking she raised her legs and wrapped them around his waist while she did the same with her arms around his neck. His surprised expression egged her on, she _wanted_ to surprise him. Her lips captured his for a second before he grinded his hips down into her, making her moan again.

"_Voi Luoja_ John" His groan in response made her clutch him tighter.

"Say my name _Inferno_" His authoritative voice made her want to rebel, tell him to fuck off, but instead she breathed out his real name, clutching to his body like he was her lifeline.

_"Oh Pyro..." _He slammed his hips into hers again.

"My god..." He let his head dip down to her neck to nip and suck at her pulse. "You're fantastic...'

"AHEM" The coughed out word made both of them freeze in their tracks.

"Well well well what have we here...?"


	8. And I'll cry if I want to

**Here you go lovelies! 3 Please review!**

**Finnish lines:  
**

**"Oh darling, when will you learn to stop fighting yourself?"  
**

**"Perhaps when you learn to let me sort things out on my own"**

**"You are a God among insects Aurora, never let anyone tell you different."  
**

**"Welcome! How are you?"  
**

**"I missed you so much!"  
**

* * *

Apparently, they hadn't even noticed that they had been gone for hours, the sun was halfway in the sky marking it to be around two or so... Sinnika looked down at them with pure glee in her expression, happy her plan had worked.**  
**

"Oh I fucking knew it! You guys DO have a thing!' The blonde twin clapped her hands together with a squeal as Bobby came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Oh fuck off Sinnika, you had this planned." She gently pushed John off of her and into a sitting position. The icy couple took note of the untouched picnic basket and rumpled blanket with feigned disinterest.

"What? I would never Aurora, you know that!" The wicked gleam in her otherwise innocent expression told Aurora that Sinnika had known exactly what she was doing, and was glad she had done it. She had won after all... Sinnika always got her way. Aurora snorted and tossed her hair defiantly, her anger from earlier in the day slowly bubbling up.

"This is lust Sinnika, nothing more. Stop filling your head with the fantasies I know you're having. Just because you and Iceboy over there are living happily ever after for the moment doesn't mean you need to fucking set me up."

All three of them blinked at Aurora, suddenly confused by her harsh words. As she looked over at John, she could see the fire in his eyes still, but also a bit of hurt... And it confused her...

Just because they had spent a nice day together didn't mean they were going to hook up and be some mutant power couple like Sinnika and Bobby. His eyes darkened and she pursed her lips in a confused expression. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

Sinnika stared down at her sister with a smile, knowing her reactions were only embarrassment rearing its ugly head. "_Kultanen, koska te opitte lakkaamaan taistelemasta itseä vastaan?"_

_"Ehkä kun te opitte antamaan minun selvittää asioita yksin" _Her tone was reproachful, but Aurora held no real anger in the words. Only a sadness that her sister really felt she could never be happy on her own. Inferno's eyes blazed momentarily before she accepted John's proffered hand so he could help her stand.

Automatically they were drawn close to one another, but Aurora didn't allow herself to think on it. Lust was an easy emotion to explain.

The rolling in her stomach at the saddened look on Pyro's face was not. A soft sigh escaped her lips.

"Well Sinnika you and Bobby can head back now as obviously John and I's morning romp is over." She almost giggled at the surprised look on John's face as he gathered the blanket and basket. Aurora picked up her backpack and faced Sinnika with a raised eyebrow. "What are you waiting for?"

She ignored Sinnika's catty look and took off towards the cars, her hair blowing wildly behind her in the wind.

Bobby looked at John with a smile. "She'll come around." Johns snort was his only response as they all followed in the angry fire mutant's wake.

* * *

The ride back to the mansion was awkward, but comfortable at the same time. The heated glances they shared spoke volumes, indicating that both knew they were not through with one another.

John however, knew he would have to wait until at least that night, as the professor had planned a surprise party for the sisters that was supposed to start as soon as they walked in the door.

No doubt Storm had done it up well for the girls to make them feel more at home, but John had a feeling 'home' was not a concept either girl was familiar with. He knew the feeling well, and hated the constant ache of knowing there really wasn't anyone who truly cared.

Being with the X-men and the Brotherhood and then back to the X-men, while it had been a wild ride, it showed him who he wanted to be. Who he needed to become, if not for his sake then for Bobby's, or the Professor, and hell, even Rogue and Storm. They wanted him to feel the love they felt for him, and sometimes he did.

Other times well... Other times he just wanted to run. Run far away from everything and everyone he'd ever known in the mansion, in the state of New York...Hell the whole USA. Australia had never been his true home, but he'd been born there and it felt like the only viable option to a country that pretended to support but actually hated and wanted to control mutants of every kind.

Between the Professor accepting him even after all he'd done, Magneto's words of wisdom on how mutants should stand together, and the rag-tag group that struggled every day to call him friend, he had found a home.

Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters had seriously grown on him, and he found himself more often than not, picturing himself teaching, training, living and dying at the mansion. His heart truely was here, and he suddenly felt the strongest urge to share it with her.

To beg her to live there forever, to make her promise to stay and help them build the world Xavier imagined every day... She had the strength, she was on his level in so many ways it blew his mind...And made him hate her at the same time.

She didn't see what the professor was offering them. A family. A home. A place and people to love, live and die for. He wanted her to know. To _understand_. He wanted her to feel the happiness he felt, because even in her kisses he sensed her desperation, her need to be accepted and loved. He could feel her strength, her life and her sorrow all from the brief encounter this morning.

The morning at the pond's revelations had been nothing close to the open-ness he experienced with her today, and it left him hungering for more.

He noted her posture changing as they drew closer to the mansion, closer to the confrontation she thought she was going to have with both him and her sister, and she obviously wasn't looking forward to it.

"Aurora..."

"Don't John. Just don't." He frowned at the tone in her voice.

"I wasn't going to say anything other than happy birthday." And with that he got out and slammed the door, leaving her with her head hanging.

She took a deep breath and rubbed her hands down her face, then back up to push her hair out of the way. As she exhaled, her car door swung open, and a hand lowered itself into her vision. She tried to sort out everything she was feeling as she looked up into his eyes.

He made an impatient gesture with his hand, urging her to take it...And she did. He helped her out of the car, a perfect gentleman until she had both feet firmly on the ground. Then he used his grip on her hand to manuver her against the car, a soft gasp escaping her throat as her back made contact with the cool metal. Suddenly his voice was in her ear, and she closed her eyes.

_"Olet jumalan hyönteisten keskuudessa Aurora, älä koskaan joku erilainen. ."_ Her eyes snapped open and she gazed at him, the Finnish words spoken perfectly reverberated in her brain. _A God among insects..._

He didn't know what prompted his actions, but he'd been itching to tell her that all morning, but the opportunity had never presented itself. The look in her eyes when he was finished was satisfaction enough that his timing was indeed perfect.

The soft o of her mouth caught his attention for only a moment, because her eyes being in such a turmoil of color he would swear he could hear the flames billowing and he just couldn't look away. She was going to say something, he could see the look in her eyes and the intake of her breath to steel herself.

But all too soon the moment was broken as they heard Bobby's engine roaring from the front gates of the property. He took note of her loaded gaze and sharp inhale and stepped back from her with a small smile. He gestured towards the door that led into the kitchen with his arm and a raised eyebrow, and a small smile cracked the gloomed expression that had taken over. How could he seem so young and innocent? the smile still in place, she shook her head.

"Aren't you forgetting something St. John?" She was motioning to the trunk where the basket and her bag were stored, a sly smirk on her face and a humorous gleam in her eyes as Bobby's car slid into the space next to them. Sinnika hopped out and bounced over to her twin as John shook his head.

"No, we can come back for that stuff. We should just go inside first." Sinnika nodded her head in agreement with John and began pulling her sister inside.

"Yes A we have to, Bobby's gonna give us our presents, I'm so excited!" Aurora snickered.

"You're aging so well Sinnika, no one would ever be able to tell you were a grown up AND a doctor!" Both girls laughed as the door was pulled open to reveal a blacked out hallway`

"Ladies first." Bobby's sudden ominous smile threw Sinnika for a loop.

"Mister Drake, is there something you need to share with us?" Her eyebrow went up in a questioning manner as Bobby's expression remained the same.

"No darling, I'm just being polite." Both girls groaned simultaneously and turned to enter the dark mansion.

* * *

Aurora was grumbling about light switches and electricity being the sign of of modern world as they turned the corner into the dim dining room. Their small group was grateful for the light pouring in through the windows between the curtains, but something in the mansion didn't feel right.

The twins exchanged glances before turning to look back at the men that had refused them light the whole journey.

"Ok we're here. Now WHY are we here?" Aurora's expression was stern, but John could tell there was a hint of a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.

"Yeah Bobby I thought you said..." Before she could finish, the lights suddenly flipped on and the most thunderous

"SURPISE!" They had ever heard rang out through the mansion.

Aurora's eyes were huge as she turned to take in the scene around them.

At the table was the Professor, Storm and the furry blue face of a man she hadn't seen in a year and a half along with the rest of the teachers and X-men, and behind them must have been the entire student body. Sinnika's happy gasp was barely contained over the cacophony of voices suddenly telling them happy birthday and and shouting out random things at them.

On the table was the most beautiful cake they had ever seen, half fire and half ice. The 2 was on the fire side and the 0 was on the ice side, their names beautifully piped onto the center over a very well done mutant symbol in the icing. Sinnika ran straight to the professor to gleefully give her thanks while Aurora stood rooted to the spot. Her eyes never left Hank's warm ones, and she felt the tears beginning to choke up her throat.

"Beast..."

"Ahhh, Aurora Darling!" He stood up and walked to her, his arms stretched wide _"Tervetuloa! Mites menee?"_

_"Kaipasin sinua paljon!"_ Her voice was no more than a whisper as she embraced him, burying her face into his chest to hide her tears.

"Now now dear this is a happy time. Its your birthday little one, smile!" And she did, her smile was radiant, her eyes still glistening from unfallen tears as she stared up at her mentor in wonder.

"Thank you. Thank you so much for coming its been so long..."

"I know, I know, I'm very sorry, can you believe they _actually_ make me _work_ sometimes?" Aurora's laugh tinkled gently over the crowd as Beast led her to the table, away from a confused looking Bobby and John.

" Yes, I had heard that the American government _occasionally_ finds use for its employees." Her sly grin was met with one of Hank's own as he embraced Sinnika before she took her own seat.

The professor used his mental abilities to tell everyone to calm down and get ready for the festivities.

"Now I understand normally people eat BEFORE the cake, but I think we can skip too much American tradition this time, right girls?" The twin's eyes lit up.

"Heck yes prefessor! Hey who made the cake?" Aurora asked the professor, genuinely curious when ShadowKat spoke up.

"I did. I hope you like it." Aurora smiled at the woman and nodded.

"Its perfect. And very large." That got a laugh from everyone, followed by the dreaded birthday song.

Through the chorus of what must have been a hundred or so people, Aurora caught John's eyes and noticed that he was singing too. The smirk that came over his face as he caught her staring was enough to make her melt into a puddle under the table and wish she hadn't looked at him at all.

As the last awkward notes rang out,Aurora tore her eyes away from John to look over at Sinnika who's expression was as wondrous and mischevious as her own. Together they both took a small breath and blew at the candles.


	9. Revelations

**Sorry for the long wait guys! I'm already working on the next chapter. Review Review pleaseeee! I would love to know what you're thinking! Good or Bad. Also, sorry for the kind of slow burn. Things will pick up soon.  
**

* * *

Sinnika and Aurora collapsed into a heap onto the couch in the den closest to the dining room, talking animatedly to Hank who took up residence in a lounge chair next to them. The buzz from the day's excitement was finally getting to everyone, making them realize how long the day really had been. The sun had finally gone down and they were able to send most of the student body to bed, allowing the older X-men to fully enjoy one another's company.

Aurora and John had already gotten into a fight about mutant-human relations, prompting John to huff his way to bed before they made the mansion spontaneously combust. Bobby had just shaken his head at the age old disagreement and pressed a kiss to Sinnika's temple, silently thanking God for his way more stable girlfriend.

Aurora's mood drastically changed once John had left but was only noticeable in lulls during the conversation, and the ice mutants weren't the only ones to notice. It was Beast who made first mention of it, much to everyone's surprise. Ororo and Kitty looked up from their game of pool when he began to speak.

"Dear Lord, Aurora! Its your birthday and you have the single worst look I've ever seen on your face, whats wrong?"

His sudden, booming voice in the silence shocked Aurora out of her reverie and she blushed, "Oh, Hank its nothing. I'm just tired is all." Her weak smile made him pause, but her answer seemed to mollify the rest of the mutants in the room as they resumed their activities.

Hank allowed Aurora to brood and the room resume their activities while he had a silent conversation with the professor.

_"She doesn't think shes doing as well as she thought she would, Hank, but that's not her main problem... I can feel the waves of self loathing rolling off of her but I can't pinpoint the reasons to help her, I'm sorry."_

_"Have you offered her therapy yet? Or counseling sessions?"_

_"No, I was rather hoping she would come to me for it, she seemed very receptive when I visited them in Finland."  
_

_"Ah, of course she would professor, she was in her own territory. She felt safe, here, still feels vulnerable. I can guarantee she wouldn't even come to me for help, and I've been in and out of her life since the twins were ten. Shes a stubborn one, that Inferno.  
_

_"Just like John, their fire mutation makes for quite volatile personality traits. Their propensity for changing their minds is incredible."  
_

"HA!" Everybody jumped at Beast's sudden outburst, everyone had been quietly having their own conversations, making his interruption all the more interesting. _  
_

"Hank? Everything ok?" Aurora went to stand and check on him but he was already up and out of his chair.

"Come with me darling, I know just what you need." His smile was large and radiant as she took his large blue hand and allowed him to lead her from the room.

_"Be careful Hank, we don't want to scare her into running away, we need her."_

The professor's voice echoed in his head for only a moment before Hank responded._  
_

_"If she wants to run, its going to happen if I scare her into it or not."_

* * *

"Hank where are we going?" There was a light giggle in her voice that brought a smile to Hank's face.

"So nice to hear you laugh girl!" He held her arm above her head and twirled her until she was at his side instead of behind him. "I have not yet seen you dance since you were 17, and there's a lovely song I want to hear that I haven't heard in ages!"

She knew exactly what song he was talking about, and he didn't particularly like the song, but he had always loved to watch her dance to it. It was one of her own favorites, it held so much meaning and purpose behind the choral-like sounds, the thick accent of Fin in the english words...

She shuddered just thinking about it. She hadn't danced to that specific song since Hank had been there to watch at her last recital.

"Sister of Charity?" The hope in her voice made his booming laughter arise.

"Is there any other I'd rather hear?" She smiled and hugged him before they resumed their trek to the dance studio.

* * *

Bobby threw his legs onto Sinnika's lap and stretched exaggeratedly, releasing a rather large and loud yawn. Kitty laughed and looked up from her shot.

"I think hes telling you its bed time girly." Sinnika eyed her with a grin.

"And? Its my birthday, I do what I want." Her smug expression made Bobby raise an eyebrow.

"Is that so?" Her girlish giggle sent chills through him. How did he feel so strongly for her already?

"Why yes, yes it is. I'm 20 now, meaning I'm no longer a teenager! And as an adult and house doctor I proclaim that I may, in fact, do_ whatever_ I want."

"Only for today darling." She sat up and scooted closer to him with a smile on her face.

"Thats what you think." Without warning she shot up off the couch and ran out the front door into the night.

"What the..." Storm laughed at him and shook her head. _Kids these days..._

* * *

Kitty sighed as she watched Bobby run out after Sinnika.

"When is the professor gonna tell them? This isn't something he should even be hiding from them, not for this long...Not even for a day." Her face was stern as Storm took the shot she had been lining up, smoothly knocking two balls into one pocket before moving on to her next one.

"Its his decision Kitty, not ours. Its the twins' birthday, let them enjoy it before bringing them back to reality."

"Thats all fine and dandy but... If he doesn't tell them tomorrow, I will. What if the situation gets out of control? I mean Peter and I were talking and..." Storm looked up from her missed shot with a raised eyebrow.

"Collosus huh?" Kitty's blush colored her face all the way down to her neck, and suddenly the walls were much more interesting than what she had been talking about beforehand.

"Thats not the point. We were just talking about it and Aurora almost walked in on the conversation. I feel really bad that everyone but the four of them knows about this, not to mention the risk to everyone here I mean..."

"Xavier has his reasons Kitty, and its not our place to judge them. If he wants to wait, we will wait and deal with the rest as it comes."

Storms word was final, and Kitty nodded but her expression was troubled as she lined up her own shot.

* * *

Auroras body was covered in sweat as the final chords of the song faded away and her body became still. Hank's applause echoed through the mirrored room and a single tear slipped from his eye. She held her pose for another second before releasing down into normal posture and taking a deep breath.

"Magnificent darling, I don't know why you never went to dance school when I got you that scholarship." Her smile was bashful.

"I could never accept a handout like that for one, and two, dancing is what I enjoy, I will not ruin that by making a career out of it." His laughter warmed her belly, she had missed his guidance and company more than she was willing to admit. Being only 20 with such an intense life already behind her sometimes was more than she could bear, and if it wasn't for Sinnika and Hank, she knew she would have ended herself a long time ago. Dancing was the only thing that kept her sane.

"It was not a handout sweetheart," He extended his elbow to her, knowing she was probably ready for bed after the days exertions and excitement. "You earned every penny contained in that scholarship and you know it. When will you realize all that you are capable of, your true potential?" His eyebrow shot up and she chuckled.

"I'm a floater Hank, you know that."

"No Aurora, you're a firecracker that has yet to have its fuse lit." Her light laughter echoed through the empty halls and she gazed up at him. Her voice was a whisper and a ghost of a smile crossed her features when she finally spoke.

"Such faith in me Hank, always, even when I was wild and reckless without any idea of what was going on in my life...Why?" He flashed a toothy smile at her as they stopped in front of her door.

"You know, I would just _love_ to see the view from the balcony, the balconies are actually the only places I've never been in the mansion...Would you oblige an old man's simple request?" She shook her head at the change of subject with a small smile, but decided maybe they would discuss her question there.

"Of course." Her eyes sparkled up at him and he realized she probably knew at least a few of the many reasons he wished to enter her room. She did know, but didn't mind though and opened the door to let them in. Hank stepped into the room and was awed, he'd never been in a bedroom such as this. He realized immediately it was all original decor, she hadn't done anything to personalize the professors immaculate designs. She allowed him to take in the scene before him, to try to analyze her through something as simple as lack of room decoration. She flicked the grand curtains open revealing her beautiful view over the gardens, a small part of the pond visible through the far off tree lines.

The tension from earlier returned as the image of John at the pond flashed across her mind. He had seemed a different person that morning, and she supposed so had she. She'd seen glimpses of that man again this morning...Annoyance filled her thoughts then as she thought about how ignorant he could be, pigheaded even. She huffed his image away and turned to face Beast who was examining the only personal items in the room. A small grouping of pictures littered the surface, a small frown creased his brow as he examined them. He'd seen them all before, and not one of them had her in it. Only pictures of Sinnika and Hank at the embassy in Finland or at the local fairs, along with a few others from their orphanage that they'd kept in touch with were visible.

"Ever the one _behind_ the camera, hmm?" A soft sad smile graced her lips as he looked up. Any continuation of what he had been about to say died on his lips as the view from her balcony caught his attention. Her smile grew genuine as he seemed as entranced by the view as she originally had.

"Yes," She slid the glass door open and stepped out into the cool night air. The moon was high in the sky illuminating everything as far as they could see, "I enjoy being the artist not the subject Hank, you know that." He followed her out and took a seat in one of the wrought iron chairs.

"I feel like I've stepped back into the Victorian era with the way the professor decorates." His chuckle warmed her as she took the seat next to his and sparked up a cigarette, much to his displeasure.

"Indeed, he has excellent taste."

"Is that why you have yet to make this room yours?" He asked delicately. Her eyebrows rose in mild surprise,

"What? No, I just..." Hank could see the troubled expression on her face and wondered if she even knew what he suspected.

"You are afraid darling." She scoffed at his observation.

"I am a level four mutant Hank, I am afraid of nothing."

"Unfortunately darling, yes you are. And its not physical harm you fear, it is emotional. You are afraid to call this place home..." His voice was a soft whisper as she took another drag from her cigarette and contemplated his words.

* * *

John was laying on his bed staring at the ceiling. His shark zippo was in his hand, and every few seconds the soft _snikt _of it opening, and the brash_ clink_ as it snapped shut would invade the silence of his over-large bedroom. He couldn't think of anything but how blind she was about the world, and he had to keep reminding himself he shouldn't care._  
_

_Shes only 20. Shes got a million things left to learn._

_Shes not even from this part of the world, her views on everything are bound to be different._

_Hell, shes not even used to seeing the sun as many hours a day as we do, what makes her think shes qualified to make political judgements? Shes probably got some kind of stupid vitamin deficiency..._

_I don't care if she makes a fool of herself in front of the world. She needs to learn somehow.  
_

_Mutant Human co-existance is never going to happen, no matter how hard we work, the world outside the X-mutation will never understand. They will never accept that we have this power, and they'll never accept its natural. They think we're abominations.  
_

_They thought it was absurd. A mistake of nature. _He snorted._  
_

John had stopped fighting humans sure, had joined back with the Professor's cause because he felt it was right in the end. He thought they _should_ be able to coexist, but he didn't believe they ever would. _  
_

_So why am I fighting? _He asked himself. Over and over again the question plagued him, and over and over Xavier's voice, echoing distantly from some past conversation rang through his head,

_"Because it is the right thing to do, John."_

_The right thing? _John scoffed, the right thing always got him hurt. He was more one for causing problems rather than fixing them. He was not a healer, he was a destroyer. It was his element. Why didn't she see that?

He flicked his lighter open and struck the flint, causing a small flame to spark up. He urged it higher, taller...

Calling it to his hand, he moved it into a little ball and stared deeply into it.

He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there when a sudden knock on his door called for his attention. The ball in his hand twitched up, as if urging him to call out to whoever had decided to visit.

Only contemplating feigning sleep for a moment, he finally sighed, shaking the ball into nonexistance and responded.

"Who is it?"


End file.
